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Monday, November 30, 2009

Not Me! Monday



did you clean up your home for company this Thanksgiving but really just threw everything into the walk-in closets? was your homemade pumpkin pie something you really picked up at the store on your way to the in-laws? well, don't sweat it!! Not Me! Monday was created by Ms.MckMama so we could share our minor flaws and live to mother our babes another day!! if you want to play along you can link up your site at MckMama's blog, and this way i can visit you as well!!




so.... what did i not do this past week? so glad you asked!!












my most perfect and wonderful baby 'K' did not throw huge, loud, obnoxious fits during our family photo shoot last weekend, nope!!! i have raised an excellent babe that follows directions and smiles on command... we would never have to re-think the above picture to allow poor, whiny 'K' to be held by his mama during the pictures just to try and get a shot without massive amounts of screaming and wailing....








our Thanksgiving day was fabulous with so much food, and because i am such a wonderful steward of my leftovers i most certainly did not throw stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, some biscuits into the trash can because i couldn't fit anything else in my fridge. i planned everything really well and would never over-cook and then have too much to keep and send with others.... but it was so yummy!!! if you haven't made homemade sweet potatoe fries, then you are missing out!!








i did not wake up at 3:30am on friday morning, and i did not join hundreds of others at walmart, and toys r us, and target, and old navy and flame and flare to get the supposedly best deals of the whole year. i am such a good planner of my time i did not spend too much time in the line at walmart only to miss out on some of the items at toys r us, and if i had done that i would not still be a little irriated about it because there are only certain things that would impress a tween boy and i might have missed out on purchasing them, if i had gone out shopping with all the other crazy people.... :)






okay so that's my weekly wrap-up on all the thing i did not do..... what you been doin'?

Sunday, November 29, 2009

calling all my Sisters!!!




i enjoy planning and organizing events, well really anything in general: i find it fun to organize my grocery lists, my photos, make sure my cupboards have all the labels showing... ahem, okay i didn't mean to reveal all of my overly compulsive habits, but all of this to say that i love planning an event!






however i am not always the most hospitable. i love the planning, the decorating, but i struggle with the hostessing... not that i'm a bad hostess but i struggle in the department of having deeper, more meaningful relationships, even with people in my own family (not my Man or kiddos but extended fam). those reading this that know me, even just on an acquintance basis, probably don't believe a lick of what i've just written. it is in me to be social and i have no fear of talking up a storm about any & all things and i am the first to want to jump in & help whoever needs it. i have to be a 'people-lover' and a chatty lady simply by the career i have chosen in marketing/sales, no one wants to be sold by a grumpy, uncommunicative advertising executive. but i digress.... allowing family, friends, acquintances and random strangers (okay not all random strangers) into my heart and to show them the love of Jesus can be difficult for me, opening up my own heart and revealing the good, the bad and all the stuff in between makes me uncomfortable and if i'm being totally honest with you, i get a little sick feeling in my stomach when i think about letting others truly know me...









i don't have skeletons waiting to climb out of my closet and divulge random, embarrassing moments or the choices made with little thought, we all have those and if you are curious about if i've ever bounced a check or told a lie, then just leave me a comment and i'll fill you in :) oh and yes i have done both in my life....









i do want to have better friendships, i want to encourage others with my words and my actions, i want to live out Titus 2 in mentoring younger women in loving their family & serving God with all they are, i want to learn from other women and be mentored by them as well! so as the Lord has laid these desires, obviously not my own, on my heart and mind i've taken the step of obedience and started with hosting a Sisters Party!!









this has been so much fun for me!! all these desires loving placed in my heart from the Lord have become my plans & goals.... cool how just following God with my actions gives Him the opportunity to change my heart... love planning the wonderful Christmas ornament craft, making the yummy cake and my sister-in-law, ms.M, and i had the best time creating the invitations for all of our most amazing Sisters!! it is exciting for me to have this chance to bring together a group of splendid women to fellowship around a cup of coffee & a cup of glitter and hot glue, and allow the each other into our lives and hearts. it doesn't happen at the first party or maybe even the second, but as our group expands and as i allow the Lord to work in His way, this will be a blessing for all of us. i will have the opportunity to let others pray for me as i let them see my emotional scars and be ever so blessed because of it, and lift them up as i share the victory of God's work in those trials that left a mark....











what i've learned as i've wrestled with God over this new ministry He's handed to me, is it is simply prideful of me to think that i can do it all on my own. while He has gifted me in many things, i need a word from a fellow Sister to pick me up or a hand planning a school event, it doesn't mean i'm less because i need someone, right?! and on the flip-side, it is totally selfish to not socialize with my Sisters, because God has given me talents & gifts & insight, just like He' probably given to you, and He just might want to use me to bless another girl if i spent some time with her!!!









we had a great time last weekend, and i'm so excited about our next Sisters Gathering in late January.... can you say cookie exchange?!! would you like to join us? yeah!!! i totally want to see you there, so if you weren't on the mailing list before, i am so sorry i overlooked you, but give me a shout at floodedbygrace@gmail.com and i'll fill you in on all the details.









i love socializing with everyone in the blog world, and just looking forward to growing the Flooded By Grace crowd as well as my group of Sisters (& some Brothers out there) here in Fly Over Country!!!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Not Me! Monday



so the dishes have sat in the sink for a week a few days and now you're just washing plates as you need them... or you have an art project on the kitchen counter, the sewing maching taking up space on the kitchen table and Thanksgiving prep spread out on the dining room table... who doesn't?!! not me! Monday was created by MckMama out of her desire to share some minor imperfections with other super-moms. if you wanna play along head over to her blog and link up there!
so my Amazing Man has had many business trips as of late, so while he was saving the world out in south carolina & las vegas for 2 weeks, i did not make peanut butter & honey sandwiches for dinner some nights and i did not keep putting off sweeping the kitchen/dining room/living room and i did not let all the kiddos sleep with me at night since i was all by my lonesome.... i am way too concerned with always having all my meals planned out with just the right portions of veggies & carbs and letting the dog & cat hair blanket the hardwoods for days on end would never happen in my perfect home... ahem, anyways....
while being of the chairpeople at my lil' Lou-Woo's school charged with planning the Fall Carnival, i was not way over my head in things to do and having to also keep track of Big 'K' was so not a big deal. so i definitely did not bribe him with suckers & popcorn & cheetos (not the all natual ones either!) while he sat in his stroller as mama pushed him up and down the halls prepping, talking, running, putting out fires for 4 hours... i do not believe in bribing my kids, they must be obedient regardless of the chaotic situation!! wow, we missed daddy while he was gone!
there is of course many more things i would love to share with you if i had actually done them, but i have many things to do this happy, albeit cold Monday.
however you should come back by later for some info on a very fun Sisters Party i'm hosting this weekend!!!
and here's just a cute pic of mama and my girlie!! be blessed!



Saturday, November 14, 2009

better late than never!

it seems like forever ago that i wrote this post about my initial thoughts for you all on treating illness and flu/colds with natural medicine. and i so graciously asked you all for your two cents on the subject and since i have the most shy blog readers in all of creation (and i still love you all and am so glad that you are walking along the paths of this life with me even though your participation skills need some work, giggles!!) i only had two comments....
thus the winner i chose is ms.vernette mullins, she is a rep for a natropathic business and had a great comment!! so vernette, send me an email (floodedbygrace@gmail.com) and let me know how to get your Bonnots Mill candle to you!!!! i got you harvest spice, very yummy!!
i have lots of things to talk to you all about in the next few days, and a special Sisters Party i am hosting next weekend, so i will fill you in on the details of that tomorrow...
be blessed, remember that Jesus soooo loves you and i'll talk to you tomorrow!!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

a superhero, a monster and a cow are walking down the street...

tell me if you've heard this one before: Wonder Woman, a zombie monster and a baby cow are walking down the street.... hee hee!!!
okay i'm just kidding, well about the joke but i did see all of the above walking down the road on Halloween night.... and guess what?! they were my super-fantabulous Posse of Kiddos!!!
while this year was a little off because 'P' is now officially too old to go trick-or-treating, so we had one less kidlet to chase up and down the driveways, we all had a great night.
my sweet little girlie was the ever invincible Wonder Woman!!! right down to the head band, braclets and knee boots!! just missing the invisible jet, darn!



and while we were treking through the neighborhood i could hear screams of fright and terror... coming from the general direction of my home... hhmmmmm... what could it be?
it was of course my eldest babe taking the opportunity to scare the life right out of all the trick-or-treaters brave enough to head towards our door and plead for candy!! when you see this picture of a dead zombie monster sprawled out across a bale of hay, it seriously looks like a Halloween prop, but you'd be wrong!!! it was my usually gentle mannered boy 'P' creeping out all who dare to trespass!!! (just cackle a wicked laugh right now.. lol) now his Nana did have to come out and remind him to be careful with the little kids, so don't worry, i'm sure no one is scarred for life :)



and how could i leave out a stupendously beautiful picture of my adorable little cow, baby 'K'... everyone say "aaaawwwww" together!! isn't he the cutest? okay so maybe he was not into leaving the hood on except when we walked up to the doors, he'd allow it on long enough to say "treat, peeessss! i a cow... mmmmmooooooooo!!" with a giant grin, take the candy, look it over and once approved, plop it into his bucket, say "tank yoo", quickly pull the hood off and make his way to the next house.... it was fun, fun, fun!




not only did we have some great family time tricking and treating, we were at an awesome party at church earlier in the day jumping on inflatable, eating hot dogs and seeing many families hear the Gospel and receiving the best treat: the ultimate love & salvation of Jesus!!!
so what did you guys do on Halloween: trick or treat?!!!

Monday, November 9, 2009

ponder my shoes...


Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. Proverbs 4.25-27 (ESV)




i give a lot of thought to what shoes i buy and wear each day; i love, love, love shoes!! they don't have to be the top designer and most expensive shoes (except those are the ones that seem to catch my eye first!!) but i love a shoe that makes a statement, my shoes (typically) are a big part of my accessories as i choose my outfit for the day. i love heels! i love high, 4 inch stelleto heels!! oh, and sandles! cute, strappy heels with a pretty pedicure and a shiny toe ring!! love, love, love it!!




okay, so maybe you think i have officially jumped off the deep end of the clog at this point but i am moving towards a point...



while reading my Bible one evening, i was in Proverbs and came across the verse i began this post with, and verse 26 jumped out at me like it hadn't before: Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. hhhhmmmmmm..... the path of my feet... i take a lot of time to decide what color i adorn my toes in, and i search far and wide for glorious shoes that will accent my feeties ever so beautifully, but am i giving as much thought as to the path i walk in my hot pink heels? are you?



maybe you're not strolling around in 4 inch pink slingbacks, but it is an important and thought-provoking verse all the same, don't ya think?



i am so not perfect, probably the biggest understatment i've written thus far, however i have become ever so cautious with my steps and sensitive to the Spirit's guidance in my life. i still have many times a week that i regret an insensitive word and get upset with myself for not fully trusting in God's provision for me, and i could go on. however, i have thankfully taken to heart the Word and the lessons learned from my past faults with a hope to not repeat.





so my path... well, here's some things along my path right now that i am excited about and what i feel i'm in the process of learning:



...to open up my life and heart to those that the Lord brings onto my path. i have always struggled to truly let others in for fear of being hurt or getting left behind if they really knew me and i tend to just want to do most things on my own because i feel like i can do it better. but the Lord has really shown me how prideful it is to think i can do it on my own without others; it is a lonely road when we isolate ourselves & God uses people and what if He wants to use others to bless my walk?! and if i have shut off others from really getting to know me then i have cut off a way to know the Lord deeper. nope!!! i want my path to cross with many others so that i can share my experiences with them and theirs with me; that we can really live into Proverbs 27.17: 'Iron sharpens iron, and one man (or woman) sharpens another.'



...to fully accept the gift of love God has for me!! Jesus has done great things in my life, my whole life!! but we can miss it when we don't take that step of faith and believe with our whole hearts that Jesus died for us and loves us with an amazing and extravagent love. He loves every single part of me and that He has forgiven me and i am redeemed. i have walked with God for awhile now, a close walk, but i have missed out on a much deeper relationship because i've missed this. He loves me!! the King, the Creator loves me! i am a daughter of the Most High Lord and He will use my hurts, my scars, my joys and my pains to reveal His ultimate glory if i understand His unfailing love for me. He sooooo loves you too!! have you fully accepted that gift or have others tried to steal it from you? have you believed the lies of the devil that you aren't good enough for God's love? he's a liar!!! and the gift of mercy and grace and freedom is for all who want it.



....to serve my family. i have a tendancy to get sidetracked.. i know hard to believe, huh?! but i need to simplify and focus more. my path needs to be a little less crowded by projects and more overgrown with time spent just playing and reading and talking and pruning my little Posse of Kiddos as they are growing into small people who will be accountable for their own paths. i love all the things i do at the big kids schools, and they love how involved i am, i only do it for them anyway, but sometimes in the process of 'doing it for them' the project overtakes my life and thus takes valuable time away from the ones i started doing it for in the first place! as i move forward, i want to clear my path so God can work in a greater way according to His will at that time and i don't become so busy that i don't leave any time for God and His work.



my path can be rocky and i struggle to understand the trials that continue like a lingering disease that has finally been diagnosed but without a definitive cure, or why family relationships are strained and seemingly difficult, but i will continue to walk my path as long as my Father goes before me and clears the way. it wasn't meant to be easy, but He asked me to trust and believe that His ways are higher and His plan is greater than i can comprehend; and i will from now until i meet Him face to face one day!!!



I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice...' Proverbs 8.20