Hearts in Service

"What's for dinner?"   I hear this statement every day.  I have always been very organized with my meals and generally have always been able to answer this. This year has been just weird.  Everyone is on different schedules and this summer is just out of control.  Stephen leaves the house at 6:30 a.m. and gets home at 1:00 p.m..  Dan leaves at 8:00 and doesn't get home until 6 p.m.  Nathan's schedule is all over the place.  Some days he works 1st shift and other days it's 2nd shift.  CRAZY!!!! In an attempt to at least get a plan in place, I decided to go back to writing out a weekly menu.  This way, I'm not staring into my refrigerator at 4:00 p.m.and realizing I forgot to defrost something!  I'm also thinking my crockpot needs to become my friend again.  This way if I get dinner on in the morning, then everyone can eat when they are hungry. Gone are the days when we all sit down together.  That happens maybe once...

I've made a few changes to my website.  I was reviewing my Etsy history and for 2013 found that I had made $197.  Sounds okay, right?  Well, when I looked at how much I spent in fees (the cost to list the item, their percentage when I sell and item, and the cost to be listed in their search ads), I found that I had spent $165!  Craziness.  Since most of my business comes through word of mouth and I already have a website, I figured it made sense to switch. If you look over to the left of the page, you will see different page tabs.  There is a tab for the main website (home), tabs for the blog, the book on Amazon, reviews of both the book and craft items and finally my webstore.  Please take some time to peruse the site!  It's a work in progress. One other thing I wanted to mention is that  if you have read or purchased Words of Encouragement for a Discouraged World, would you be willing to leave a review on my Amazon site?  Book revi...

This has been a good week.  A good week because I've done a lot of puttering around my home. ♥ I've vacuumed. ♥ I've baked bread. ♥ Done loads of laundry. ♥ Sat on my porch and enjoyed the view. ♥ I've caught up on some paperwork. ♥ Written notes. ♥ Made cookies. ♥ Worked on my new book. There have been no events.  No appointments.  No place to be and nothing pressing to do.  I need a week like this every now and then.  A week to just focus on what is important.  To focus on the things in my life that need attention.  To be able to chat with my husband and the boys without feeling rushed (Emily is at camp). I love being able to make sure everything is running smoothly on the home front and sometimes I need to remember that I need to slow down to do that!  I'm trying to learn to enjoy these quiet times when they come instead of always thinking about the next thing.  This week I succeeded.

Inadequate.  Insufficient.  Not  quite good enough.    Those ugly feelings and thoughts rise up in me now and then.   They usually stay buried but then I'll have days or even weeks, when I feel them bubbling just beneath the surface and they'll come exploding out.  This past week was one of those weeks. Small things would stir the pot of lies I hear in my spirit...An unkind word.  A broken promise.  A sarcastic comment. This was a week of constantly reminding myself of who I am in Christ.  A week of prayer.  A week of telling myself that they are just feelings ; and not reality.  A week of tears and heartache.  A week of crying out to God and asking Him to replace those feelings.   To realize... I am adequate for the task He has given me. That He is sufficient for all my needs. That I am unique and shouldn't compare myself with anyone. The biggest thing I needed to remind myself of is to get ...

I have been glued to my sewing machine this week.  That is a good thing because it means I'm selling items!  The boutique that carries some of my things has been doing a great job selling and wanted me to bring in some more items to replenish their dwindling supply!  I've also been busy with some custom items. I ended up making 7 clothespin/plastic bag/multipurpose holders.  I love the fabrics! I made a bunch of tea totes & tissue holders. And I also made about 20 note cards. On top of all that, I made 10 half pints of mango jam and 9 half pints of strawberry. Busy~busy~busy!!!  :-)

The past few days, as I've worked on my computer, a message has popped up which says that my hard drive is dangerously low on memory.  I've deleted as many items as possible on my hard drive, but I also went to my system tools and decided to defragment my hard drive.  This tool compresses items, combines files and tries to use the space on your drive to the maximum efficiency. At times, I need to defragment my life too.  I get pulled in a thousand directions.  I run here and run there.  I have my hands in many different things and I find that I run out of steam.  I begin to feel anxious and stressed.  I slow down and don't work as efficiently. Here are some things that I have found that work when I start feeling harassed and harried. 1.  I stop and spend some time digging into God's word.  Often when I feel that way it is because I have pulled away from the source of my life.  I tend to think, "Oh, I don't have time for that."...

"I don't want to go to the parade."  "I have way too much to do." "You are missing the point."  "It's not about making activity."  "It's about living in the moment and enjoying what you have in front of you." Words spoken last week by my very wise husband to his very frantic-paced wife. If I can't slow down enough to realize the point of what I'm doing, then there is no point.  I'm just making noise.  I can be so wrapped up in making memories that I don't enjoy the moments I have.  I live my life rushing from one event to the next, planning, organizing, doing.   The problem with that is that I miss those glimmering moments.  I can be too impatient and focused on doing that I miss out on these little blips in my life. My daughter's desire to tell me every detail about the book she reading. My son's wish to just sit and talk with us about what he is learning.  My other son's joy in ch...

    It's been the week of aprons around here!  A new boutique opened up near us and they have asked to carry some of my craft items, as well as my book.  So last Friday I took an bagful of items to the store.  However, that pretty much depleted my stock of aprons and I am going to a "ladies night out" at a local store tonight and will have a table there.  So I've been busy sewing aprons to bring with me. I managed to make 6 this week.   I made this apron a couple of weeks ago and took it with me to our town's community day where it was purchased.  A friend saw it and ordered the same exact apron.  So I made another one.  I love the red & white. I've been experimenting with different pockets.   This is my absolute favorite.  The waistband, pockets and under bands are actually made with a vintage sheet that had embroidered flowers.  Love it!  I also made a custom o...

Saturday dawned beautiful, sunny, and HOT.  Yet, not even the humidity and heat could ruin the day.  Dan & I renewed our vows for our 25th anniversary in front of family and friends. What a special day.  It was fun.  Everyone had a good time.  I loved being able to see my extended family again.  The only thing missing was Dan's side of the family (too far for them to come) and Nathan, who was in bed with a 102 fever.   I was able to do the bulk of the food myself, as well as the decorations and I really enjoyed. it.   My brother-in-law officiated.  Two friends who were fellow ministers participated.  My children played a part.  It was wonderful!    One of the comments that someone made was how well Dan & I compliment each other.  And we do.  His strengths balance out my weaknesses and my strengths compliment his weaknesses.  God truly knew what he was doing whe...

I had a very bad week of continuing to feel ill from diverticulitis, and then developing a cold which seems to want to turn into bronchitis.  I felt down, discouraged, and depressed.  Some of it had to do with the fact that Dan has started his summer program with his secular job and that means very long hours.  It seems like most days we say a few words to each other in passing and then fall into bed at night, exhausted. Then I have a list a mile long of things I need to do to get ready for next Saturday when we will be renewing our wedding vows for our 25th anniversary.  I have guests coming for the week this afternoon and am feeling the crunch. This weekend was community day at our town park and I was feeling overwhelmed with one more thing to do.  I had my own booth to run, as well as managing the church booth.  However, after a week of hot, humid, and rainy weather, Saturday turned out to be the best weather of the week.  We had a great turno...