Sowing and Reaping - Out of the Mouths of Babes

We finally got our garden planted over the last couple weeks.  It had been a very wet Spring.  And we finally had a dry stretch that was long enough for us to plow and get our seeds planted.

The day we put in the potatoes my husband was kinda grumpy about it.  He knows that every year I start out really motivated to keep a nice garden and every year he ends up having to take a lawn mower to the weeds that take over.  Plus our potato crop wasn't very fruitful last year.  So as he was planting the rows he was mumbling and grumbling that it really didn't seem worth it.

But the boys are always excited about having a garden too.  They love watching things grow.  And, they had each picked out their own seeds to plant this year.  Wyatt picked pumpkins.  Edison picked a large watermelon variety.  And, Charlie picked sugar baby watermelons.

They can't wait until their seeds start sprouting.

After church today Edison told me that his Bible verse was "A man reaps what he sows."

I asked if he knew what that meant and he said 'no'.

Here I knew I could use something practical and timely to help teach the spiritual lesson.

"What do you get if you plant zucchini seeds?" I asked.   He answered zucchini.

"What if you plant corn seeds?" Corn.

Then I said, "What do you think you get if you plant seeds of anger?"  Edison answered "You get anger".

" And, what do you get if you plant seeds of kindness?" He answered "Kindness".

Wyatt had been listening to all this and here he piped up, "So does that mean since Daddy was grumpy when he was planting our potatoes that we'll get angry potatoes?"

Hey Blogger!

Hey Blogger!  I'd really like to have my post from Thursday back...and my comments from Wednesday if you please.  I'd appreciate it so much.


Anyone else out there a wee frustrated?  I suppose they'll get it all worked out soon enough.  Anyway, since my Thursday post is missing right now you may not have heard that I have a very exciting week planned for next week.  It includes a home tour and before/after pics from a side table re-do.  


Hopefully we're back to normal and we'll see you all then!


Have a blessed weekend!

Being a Good Steward of Your Home...The Heart of the Matter

(Part 3 in the Home Stewardship series of posts)


Being a good steward of our homes certainly involves the physical aspect and the practical stuff. But, first and foremost it is a matter of our hearts.  


God desires for us to be filled with joy, contentment, and peace.  


He examines our hearts, our motivations, and longs for our obedience to Him.


What does that obedience look like?  


1. Compare Less
Exodus 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house.  You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
When we compare our homes and our possessions with those of others we invite a spirit of discontent and covetousness.  We often miss how greatly we are blessed when we are focused on what we don't have.  And we allow our joy and peace to be stolen from us.


2.  A Thankful Heart
Look instead to how you have been blessed.  Cultivate a spirit of gratitude.   I remember a time in the beginning of our marriage when my husband was still fine-tuning the virtually non-existant plumbing system in our old house.  It was almost impossible to take a shower.  The water was cold and there was no water pressure.  We'd merely get drips and have to try our best to wash and rinse.  I remember the thrill I felt when we finally had a hot shower with full water pressure.  It felt so luxurious!  And, I was so thankful!  I need to try to remember that thankfulness even now as I go about my daily routine.  So many things that we take for granted are the things we'd be most thankful to have if we had to do without.


3. Stress Less 
Chances are other people really aren't overly concerned about the appearance of my home.  I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who loses sleep over it.  Relax!  I remember a conversation I had years ago with my friend, Marilyn.  We were discussing some of the insecurities each of us felt about our homes.  The thing she said that sticks in my mind is that she would actually rather visit in a home that was imperfect than a home that was perfect.  


4.  Hospitality
When we open our homes and our hearts to others we are honoring God.  This is a lesson I am trying so hard to learn and to take to heart.  I want my home to be warm and welcoming...and that starts with my willingness to bring others in.  It doesn't have to be Martha Stewart approved.  Just having someone over for a  cup of coffee is good enough.


Two final thoughts on our homes....
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  Deuteronomy 6:4-7


"....He blesses the home of the righteous"  Proverbs 3:33


May you and your household be richly blessed!

Being a Good Steward of Your Home...The Practical Stuff

(Part 2 in the Home Stewardship series of posts)


So I shared yesterday that part of the dilemna contributing to my discontent was a good deal of frustration.  Time, money, and know-how (on my part) were all at a minimum.  And, so for 10 years many household projects have been on hold.


In addition I have been feeling very overwhelmed.  Caring for four boys under the age of 8, preparing meals, laundry, de-cluttering, cleaning, etc. all seem some days like more than I can handle.


I have been very tempted to just throw in the towel.  If the kids don't seem to mind the mess, then so be it.  And, if my house is in a perpetual state of renovation, then why even try to do anything to beautify it?  After all, this house is supposed to be temporary.  Someday we really would like to buy a house with a bit more land to it.  


The problem with this line of thinking is that it has left me depressed, even more discontent, and unsettled.  It was as though (in my mind) we've been living in temporary housing...for 10 years!  It was time to really focus on how to make my house a home....not perfect - imperfections would still abound...but a place of rest, comfort, and love.


A fellow MOPS mom shared with me that at one point when she was single she was renting a mobile home.  It was not her housing of choice and she said she even felt somewhat embarrassed.  But then she felt like God spoke very clearly to her that he wanted her to be a good steward of what he had given her.  And she said to me, "Karen, I'm not one of those people who often has a strong sense of 'God is saying' this or that to me.  But, this was very clear."  From that point on she made an effort to put extra care into her home - planting flowers, painting walls, decorating it simply yet beautifully.


And, that stuck with me.  God does call us to be good stewards of whatever he gives us....whether our homes are worth 50 thousand dollars or 500 thousand dollars.   


So here are some practical things I've been trying to keep in mind as I explore what it means to be a good steward of my home.  These may be things many of you have already mastered.   But, this list is a reflection of where I am right now.


1.  Acknowledge your time wasters  
Probably my biggest time waster right now is the computer.  I love to check facebook, my blog, and other blogs for posts and comments.  I also have become somewhat obsessed with Craigslist - specifically the furniture for sale listings.  I am checking my computer over and over and over throughout the day.  And, when I'm not checking it I'm wondering if there are any updates.  Being aware of the problem is half the battle.  Our time wasters usually aren't bad things in and of themselves.  We just need to find balance.


2.  Be Realistic
With an older house that seems to create it's own dirt and dust, four boys who love to play outside and bring in more dirt, and a husband who is a very hands-on kind of guy who brings in even more dirt, I am not going to have a pristine home.  My floors are going to get sticky. Walls are going to get scuffed up.  Things are going to get broken.  Realizing this and accepting this will help me be realistic about what 'clean' looks like for our house.


3.  Decide what is Good Enough
Growing up, if we owned a mop I don't remember it...because whenever we cleaned the kitchen and dining room floors it was on our hands and knees scrubbing.  For the longest time I thought that if I was going to clean something I had to go all out and 'do it right'.  But, the fact is, scrubbing on my hands and knees takes a long time.  And, what happened is the floors wouldn't get done at all.  When I accepted that the floors didn't have to be perfect...just good enough...they got done a lot more often.


4.  Do what you can
The same type of issue held true with the bathrooms (my least favorite thing to clean).  I felt like I had to be able to scrub the toilet, sink, and tub...as well as clean the floors all in one shot.  But, the task seemed overwhelming.  Breaking it down into smaller tasks...say scrubbing the toilet when I had 5-10 extra minutes made it seem far less overwhelming...and the bathroom stayed cleaner.  In the same way, I have one particular room that seems to accumulate all the stuff  that needs sorted or given a home.  This room (my computer room actually) has become an overwhelming mess!  I don't have an entire day to devote to cleaning and organizing it.  So instead I've been tackling it bit by bit - 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there.  It's still a mess.  But, I can see the floor now!


5.  Use simple systems
There are people out there who swear by household binders.  In it they keep organized all their bills, appointments, menu planning, household projects, shopping lists, budget, etc. etc.  I LOVE this idea.  But, it doesn't work for me.  I've tried it.  I get more caught up in trying to maintain the binder. Then,  something that is designed to be a tool in organizing tasks becomes just another task.  I am the same way about chore lists, reward charts, etc. for the kids.  It sounds like such a great idea and for some families it's an incredibly effective tool.  For me, it's one more thing to maintain and I'm rarely consistent.  For me, the simpler the better.


One example of a simple system I use is with mail/bills.  When the mail arrives, I immediately go through it.  I toss the junk mail.  Magazines go on the magazine rack.  Invitations or things involving an upcoming date to be scheduled I write on the calendar and tack on my mini-bulletin board.  Bills I open and then I write on the envelope it arrived in how much is due and when it's due.  I put those in my bill file and each Friday (payday) I pull them out and pay what needs to be payed.  Sometimes there are still things I set aside that I'm not sure what to do with.  Usually these are things I think my husband might want to look at.  So, sometimes that pile grows larger than it should.


6.  Slowly tackle the clutter
I have learned that I don't have to keep everything.  It's OK to give away and throw away.  This has been a slow learning process for me.  I tend to be very sentimental over items or I stash them away that someday in the future they might be useful.  I had to force myself in the beginning and bagging up stuff to take to Goodwill or ReUzit took me a long time.  I'd sit staring at something in my hand and literally take 10 minutes asking myself, "Should I keep this?  Would one of the boys want it some day?  Should I sell it instead of giving it away?"  Often I wouldn't be able to make up my mind and I'd set it aside to be dealty with later.  Now I take great pleasure in filling bags with stuff to get rid of.  It's still hard sometimes & I still get 'stuck' on certain items.  But, I've come a long way!


7.  Make lists of future projects
Thy Hand Hath Provided did a similar post last week titled "House Woes"  In it she talked about how so many times we see our house but we don't really see it.  And, then when we really look at it we realize 'Oh.  This needs done.  That needs done.'  She went on to say that those things don't really need to be done to ensure our happiness.  I agree wholeheartedly. Our happiness is not dependant on our houses.  I repeat.  Our happiness is not dependant on  our houses.  The one thing I would add to that is that when I do notice something that should be fixed or replaced...start a list.  So many times, if I am out where I could buy whatever I need in my house, I can't for the life of me remember what I need.  For instance, the ceiling light fixture in our kitchen fell and shattered months ago.  I've gotten so used to the bare bulb that I forget sometimes that it's like that.  But, this is an example of something I should put on my list - it's simple enough to fix...if I can just remember to buy that new fixture.


8.  Take the time to enjoy a sense of accomplishment
When you do finish a project, take a minute to stand back and enjoy it.  For me recently I finished weeding and mulching one of my flowerbeds.  Yes.  I still had more flowerbeds to weed and mulch, but I took some time to soak the the great feeling of accomplishment.




So there you have the areas I'm working on.   This is what works for me.  I'd love to hear some of the things that work for you.  And, next post I'm planning on writing a bit about the heart issues involved in good stewardship.

Being a Good Steward of Your Home...The Dilemna

(Part 1 in the Home Stewardship series of posts)


A few weeks ago I mentioned that I've been thinking long and hard about what it means to be a good steward of our homes.  And, then try as I might, I could not get myself to sit down and write some of the thoughts on the subject that I've had.


Because I couldn't get over my grumpy, dumpy hump.  But, sometimes the best way to get over those humps is to push past them with all your might.  And, that's what I'm going to try to do.  So, here goes....


I struggle with contentment big time.  For one, I LOVE houses....especially older homes, homes with character.  This means that I love to look at what's out there on local real estate websites and auction websites,  on HGTV's House Hunters, etc.  And, while I love to look, sometime (most times) this leaves me feeling like what I have isn't good enough.


Let's face it.  Society would like us to believe that perfection is the norm.  And, everybody wants it NOW.  People want 'turn key' properties.  They've bought into the idea that they can NOT live with any imperfections.  And, anything they deem ugly or outdated must be fixed immediately to make a property live-able.  That's what it seems a lot of people believe anyway.


Our house was built in the 1930's (by John's great uncle & great aunt actually).  It is small.  It is falling apart in places.  It has a lot of it's original...um...character.  For some reason they thought that putting linoleum on the walls would be a good idea.  (For cleaning purposes?  I really don't know).  We've removed some of it, but there are still areas in the house where it's still intact.  That's just one of the many, many aspects of our house that most people wouldn't dream of living with.


We've done bits and pieces of our house over the almost 10 years of our marriage.  In retrospect, we probably should have pushed really hard to get it all done in that first year or two before we started having children.  But, we were (we are) trying to live debt free.  And, just making ends meet has been a struggle off and on over the years much less setting aside extra money for renovations.


Time is also a big constraint...especially now that we have four boys.  My husband is a busy guy.  He's got a lot on his plate between his full-time job (usually 50+ hours/week), his part-time job (teaching motorcycle safety on occassional weekends), managing our rental property, maintaining our yard, home (cutting, splitting, stacking wood for our coal/wood burning furnace...our heat source), and vehicles (if they need fixed, he does it himself).  Plus, he has a number of hobbies/interests which include tractors, engines, and motorcycles.  


Did I mention that my husband is the type of guy who wants to do all the work himself?  The idea of hiring someone to work on the home renovations is out of the question in his mind.  Why pay someone to do the work when he can do it and can do it for 1/2 or even 1/3 of the cost?


But, my husband is one person.  And, so....I wait.


Waiting has been one hurdle that I struggle with.  I've lived with my husband long enough that I know telling him over and over what I want done only annoys him and stresses him.  And, one time (only once) on someone's advice I set a 'deadline' for him for a couple of projects and told him that after that point I would hire someone to do it.  Mistake.  Big mistake.  Note to self:  Treating my husband like a little boy is not an effective means of communicating my needs/desires and does not open up healthy dialogue.


The truth is I've been frustrated because I don't know how to do the work that needs done.  And, even if I did - just taking care of my boys, preparing meals, laundry, cleaning is overwhelming enough.  


I've been embarrassed to invite people to my house sometimes.  I'll be really honest here.  I've worried that people will think we are 'low class' if they see the type of home we live in.  Is that terrible?  Well, it's terrible in the sense that it's another way I've kept myself isolated.  


I crave having the type of home that feels warm and welcoming.  A place where people enjoy hanging out.  And, I want the type of place that my boys want to bring their friends to hang out.  And, guess what?  Most of that has nothing to do with the type of house we own, and everything to do with hospitality....and changing my mindset.


Next post I'm going to take a look at some practical ways I've been trying to change my attitude and become a good steward of my home.

Trying to Get Over a Big Ole' Hump or My Whiney List

I can not get into the groove.  I've got ideas of things I'd like to blog about and I just can't get myself to sit down and do it.  Mostly because I'm not in the right frame of mind.


I've got a post on home stewardship and contentment I've been wanting to do for weeks now.  And, everytime I sit down to write it, I get stuck.  Because I'm not feeling very content right now.


I'm feeling restless.  And bored.  Tired of the mundane.  Tired of working so hard with minimal results.  Tired of being overweight and having to think about what I eat.  


I'm feeling a bit isolated.  While I have a lot of acquaintances, I have just a few friends who I'd actually call on the phone.  And they work outside the home.  My sister who recently became a mom also works.  I have no adults to talk to during the day.


I'm bad at making friends.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm friendly.  But, the work that goes into establishing a new friendship seems so overwhelming.  I've got so little energy & motivation left after giving my kids everything they need that nurturing a fledgling friendship is more than I can do right now.  I crave the ease of good friends who can say anything to each other without worrying what the other is thinking...in fact KNOWING what the other is thinking.  But that kind of friendship takes hard work and awkward moments before you get to that point.


I wish my husband were around a bit more.  But, he has to work a lot.  And, even if he wasn't working, he's still a worker.  He's the type of guy that always has to be doing something.  He's always on the move.  I'm the opposite.  I can't keep up with him.  


My biggest problem is - I don't know what I need to do to get over this hump.  This dumpy, grumpy hump.  Blech.  


Well there you have it.  Thanks for letting me whine a bit.  Sometimes it's just nice to get it all out of my head and down on paper (well...computer screen).

Honesty and A Link

For those of you who take a look at my monthly weigh-in on my sidebar, you'll notice something that embarrasses me.  I didn't lose anything this month.  As a matter of fact I gained back several pounds.


Yikes.


I knew this was coming.  I haven't been very careful about what I've eaten this past month.  And, I resumed snacking at night-time.  So, while I have also been more active working outside in my flowerbeds and so forth, I knew it wasn't enough to counter my calorie intake.


I really debated if I'd post my results this month or if I'd just eliminate my side-bar weigh-in altogether.  


I opted for honesty.  Yes.  I gained weight this month.


I really need to buckle down and get serious.  I was at my doctor's office this week.  (My boys passed along a lovely case of pinkeye to me).  The nurse did the routine weigh-in like they do with any visit.  And, when I asked if I could see what I weighed in previous visits, I was reminded HOW MUCH I've gained in the last several years.  Granted I've had four children, but I can't pass this extra weight off as baby weight any longer.  My last baby is almost a year and a half.  


And, I want to be healthy.  I want to be active.  And, I'd like to put on a pair of jeans without inwardly cursing myself.  


So, I'll keep plugging away.  I sure could use any words of encouragement or advice you may have.


Finally, I wanted to share a link with you today.  Becky at From Ministry to Motherhood posted something about the reactions to the news of Osama bin Laden's death.  She discusses what our response as Christians should be.


 I had such conflicted emotions.  I'm proud of our troops.  My humanity cries out for justice.  And yet,  rejoicing over the death of another human being, no matter how evil, left me unsettled.  You can read Becky's thought provoking post here.


Have a great week!