2009 April

Saved

April 29, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Following Jesus

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Every once in a while I feel as though I just don’t have what it is going to take to live fifty more years on this planet. Ever feel that way? Discouraged, defeated….just plain old tired?

Recently, I caught up with an old friend and she shared that her mom had been saved. My dad is saved, too! I shared back.

Saved from what? The question popped into my head as if from a cynical listener. From hell, I thought firstly. From eternal absence of God. Because I am a list maker, I began to make a list. Saved from…

Deceit

Sorrow

Anger

Lust

Pride

Envy

Persecution

Violence

Hatred

Hunger

Injustice

Favoritism

To name a few. No, the Bible doesn’t say that we will not struggle with these troubles while we live here on Earth. The way people treat one another here pains me so that I long for heaven, when all these battling feelings of our sinful flesh will be gone. I have a hard time explaining that to my head, but I know without a doubt that it is true. Heaven is without sin, without sorrow. Best of all, it is with Jesus.

Let me tell you, these last few days I have been longing for Jesus! I know He is here, everywhere. I can pray my heart out and virtually crawl into his lap for a good cry. I believe He sees the true reason for my sadness, and He loves that my heart is still soft in a hard world.

But what I long for is more, something I cannot even comprehend. My five year old, Soleil often says, “I know what Jesus is doing right now.”

“What?”

“He’s preparing a place for us.”

“That’s right!”

Yes, I long for heaven. No, I do not have a death wish. I pray daily to be able to live a long life with my family. I’m a mom!

But there are some times when as much as I know Jesus is here, I want more. On days like this, I understand more fully what it is I am saved from. I stop to praise God that I am saved from ever being separated from Him. And then, without fail, come the gentle reminders of the glimpses of heaven I’ve already had.

The absolute peace I feel when my husband holds me.

The joy and spontaneous laughter that comes from watching my daughters dance with total abandon.

The love that overflows in my heart when one of my girls puts aside her desires to bless someone else.

Even the awe of God I experience when I bite into a fresh piece of fruit. The sweetness, the color, the texture. All so pleasing. From the ground. Amazing!

Yes, there are many glimpses of heaven in this depraved world. What I am longing for, God has plopped right into my life. And the promise of an eternity with Jesus and without all the yucky stuff…that helps too.

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The Butler Box

April 28, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Domestically Challenged?

I am short on time today, so I thought I’d just share this little story I got in an email.

Managing the House

A beleaguered young mom went to an “Organizing Your Life” class. After hearing many organizing tips, she asked, “But how do you get your kids to help clean up? I have two young children, and it’s usually easier to just clean up myself. That way, I know where their things are, and they get put away right. But I feel frustrated about that.”

Another woman in the class answered, “In our house, we use a ‘Butler Box.’ Whenever something is left lying around the house where it doesn’t belong—even if it’s car keys or a wallet—it gets put into a large, wooden box that we call the Butler Box. Then, if anyone is looking for something that’s lost and finds it in the Butler Box, he can’t just grab it out. He has to do five minutes of chores around the home to get the object back.”

“What a clever idea!” the first woman said. “How old were your children when you started that?”

“Children?” the second woman answered. “We don’t have any children. This is for my husband.”

(By Kevin Miller, Executive Vice President, Christianity Today International)

I love it!

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Cheap Outings With a Twist

April 23, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Creating Family Times

Getting tired of going to the same old spots for cheap fun? Here are some ideas to spice up your next local outing:

The park: Bring water or Nerf guns and play on playground w/ them. Of course, you’ll have to be courteous of other park-goers, so go when it might not be busy. I can tell you from experience, this is so fun!

The Library: Make a fun scavenger hunt before you go. Finding stuff in books is fun, but if you’ve been to your library often enough, you can probably think of some other clever things for them to find. Ours has paintings, a display of different collections under glass, a great magazine section, and even an aquarium. A simple reminder to walk and whisper would be a good idea.

Museums: A scavenger hunt here would be awesome, too. If you’ve worn out your local museum, try a different approach. Have the kids be your tour guide. They can read facts posted near displays or just make it up as they go. Or, you can all bring a sketch book and sit quietly and sketch whatever you fancy, be it a famous painting, an artifact, or that guy over there picking his nose. Made you look!

Ice cream or frozen yogurt shop: Challenge kids to come up with a new flavor combination using toppings, etc. Better yet, make it a contest, then you’ll get to judge (taste) all the creations!

Farmer’s Market: Most weekly markets have lots more than fruits and veggies. Cotton candy, kettle corn, pony rides. And there’s plenty for the kids, too. Sample a local baker’s cookies, and enter every raffle you see. Bring your camera and have the kids take photos of interesting things, or get them each a disposable camera. You’ll get to see the day from their point of view, and you might find a budding photographer in your midst.

Fast Food: An old favorite of youth groups everywhere…the progressive fast food dinner. Order a salad at the first place, fries at the next, and then a burger somewhere else. Finally, go somewhere and order a shake or other dessert. Try out every playground if you can brave the germs. Your kids will have a blast and fill their junk food-quota for a month. This is especially fun if you can bring another family along for the fun, and no cooking or clean up for mom!

I will be following this post up soon with some other ideas for local, cheap fun. If you have any ideas, post them here in the comment section!

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My Daily Clipboard

April 22, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Domestically Challenged?

A few years ago, Eric bought me a palm pilot. He was sick of my post-it notes all over the house, as well as me forgetting things. Everything was entered into this beautiful little silver box called Palm and the post-its were gone. We were both happy.

For a while. Then, I realized that I was not in the habit of checking my little silver box. I would enter things in, but then fail to follow up and actually do them. So, I gave myself one little post-it to remind me to check Palm. It wasn’t long before one post-it turned into ten and we were right back where we started.

Eventually, Palm’s battery died and he sat, dead weight in my purse, for a year. Finally, I moved him to a drawer and had a brief moment of silence in his honor. Days later, the post-its were back in full force, now joined by to-do lists, my calorie tracker, and my ever-endearing notebooks.

I went through a clutter-removal process (read about it here) and got rid of many of my notebooks, but I still had a few slips of paper I needed each day. In spite of being able to track my food, to do lists, and more online, I prefer to have it written down so I can get to it anytime of day.

Finally, I found a solution. A clipboard bought at the dollar store holds all of my daily papers and a pen. Clipped on to it I have:

· Daily priorities and tasks

· Chore sheet

· Food tracker and Points slider (from weight watchers)

· Index card with a memory verse

· A pen

I have things arranged so that at a glance, I can see every paper. My food tracker and daily priorities sheet are small, and the chore list is a full sheet in the back.

The best thing about this is that I can move it anywhere around the house and it doesn’t look too messy. I always know where my lists are and I can add to them all day long if needed.

I also like having my priorities listed right there. These are things I decide to do during my quiet time every day for each responsibility area in my life. Often times, things I decide on in the early morning and maybe even write down in my journal are forgotten by noon. Having them listed on my clipboard that I reference all day long really helps.

Another plus is that I am no longer searching under piles of school books (like a mad woman with low blood sugar) looking for my food tracker before I can eat lunch. I also spy my memory verse quite a few times a day this way, and let me tell you it is hard to ignore!

I still miss Palm, especially when I am out and need to check my calendar, but this system actually works better for someone like me.

What works for you? Share any ideas for keeping your thoughts and tasks organized!

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The Good Wife

April 21, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: MamaMusings

As I mentioned a few days ago, I was sick last week. I had strep throat and some kind of sinus trouble, and due to a wicked fever and powerful drugs, I found myself in bed for a few days. Fortunately, I have my new laptop and so I got caught up on writing and got to play with my new homeschool software (more about this later!).

Unfortunately, I have come to a sickening realization. My husband is a better wife than I am. Sad, but true. I ventured shakily from my bed Saturday morning at 11am, dreading to find the house and children in shambles.

I was wrong. The floors were sparkling clean, the kitchen counter completely cleared off and dishes done. Leftovers from the spaghetti dinner he’d made were neatly wrapped up in the fridge and fresh coffee was brewing.

This wasn’t some early Saturday morning trick. I had noticed the house being generally cleaner all week. Not only that, Eric took the girls to sports practices, made sure they were showered and dressed in decent clothes, had them clean their room, and set a timer on his phone to remind me when to take my antibiotics.

All this while working full time all week. Did I mention he also finished tiling our front bathroom? None of this stopped him from bringing me dinner in bed and going out to buy me ice cream when I said it sounded good. I know, now I’m just bragging.

So, Saturday, after looking around the house I barely recognized, I said, “You’re a better housekeeper than me.”

“Yes I am.” Eric smiled. “But you’re a better mommy and school teacher.” Well, crap. I almost wished he would have been the tiniest bit smug, so I could be annoyed.

It reminded me of the Andy Griffith episode where Aunt Bea leaves and Andy gets a neighbor to clean the house, and then has to mess it up again because Aunt Bea feels she’s not needed. Well, what did I want? To find the house in chaos with dirty kids running amok? Of course not. Would I have felt better if this was the case? Uh…kind of.

This isn’t the first time Eric has annoyed me with his efficiency. One time, when Soleil was about eight months old, I went on an all day field trip with Coco and Eric took the day off to stay home with the baby. Ah, just wait…I thought, rubbing my hands together in an evil fashion, he’ll see how hard it is!

Yet, while I spent the day following a group of second graders through the zoo–trying to conceal body parts that sprung a leak at every baby’s cry–Eric painted our hallway with a cheerful Soleil strapped on his back.

What a pain! Now I can hear hordes of women crying, well I wish my husband would help out like that! But do you really? Take my word for it, it’s a sad thing to wake up and realize your hubby is a better wife than you are!

But, yes, I admit. He’s pretty dang cool.

[A note: I asked Eric’s permission before sharing this. He thinks it’s hilarious.]

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Fill Your Five Fat Files!

April 19, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Following Jesus

I wrote a while back about making five fat files. If you need a reminder of what they are, you can read about it in this post: Five Fat Files.

I mentioned a few ways to find ideas in the post above, but today I’d like to expand on that and give you a few more ideas. If you’ve forgotten about your little files, or maybe just ran out of steam, some new resources are sure to get you going again!

Something to remember when collecting information: Don’t just keep what you think you’ll use. Keep in mind that your goal is to one day be able to bless others with your knowledge, so you’ll want to hang onto good ideas and inspiring articles that might not apply directly to you if you think it’s potentially helpful for someone else.

Magazines: Consider your five areas and do a little research to see if there are some magazines devoted to your file areas. Sometimes a smaller magazine will have much more content than a larger, ad-filled one. There are lots of magazines out there with a specific focus like photography, homeschool, gardening, etc. You can find lots of these at the library and photocopy useful articles.

Newsletters: Don’t overlook the little newsletters that come from everyone from your dentist to your retirement provider. Our local hospital sends us one and I’ve gotten some interesting tips for kids from it.

Websites: You may have a computer file with links, or else jot them down on a sheet of paper and file away. On some websites, you can copy information directly from the site and paste it into a word document. Just be sure to include the link so you can include a reference if you share the information one day.

Sermon Notes: Do you take notes in church? I always have because it helps me process information better. It is always nice to come across old notes in my files, and it always seems to be just the right day! Sometimes, I will enjoy a message so much that I’ll buy an audio CD of it and tape it right into my sermon notes journal. It’s also a great resource for encouraging others! Don’t forget, there are many available audios online from conferences, radio shows, and church pod casts.

Conferences, conventions, and workshops: I am absolutely a conference-dork. I love them! I have been to a fine arts convention, a writer’s conference, a homeschool convention, and countless workshops just in the last three years. Notes and handouts from all of these are filed away, and I refer to them often. Audio CDs are often available here, as well.

Books: Well, of course you will find information in books. If it’s one you own, put it on your reference list and use highlighters and flags to point out sections you want to remember. If you borrow one, take copious notes and be sure to include the library call # in case you want to check it out again someday or recommend it to a friend. Be on the lookout for book sales–especially those great library ones—so you can stock up your shelves with quality reading.

Interviews: This is something Elizabeth George, the author of the book this idea came from suggests. Pick women who are proficient in one of your areas and interview them! I love this idea, and I already can think of a few women I would love to spend some time with and pick their brain.

Any more ideas? Where do you get your info from?