Change, and What I've been thinking

Last week was a week of many revelations for me. However, I must begin by giving credit where credit is due. I recently finished "Pathway to Purpose" by Katie Brazelton. It's a book about aligning your hopes, dreams, and unique giftings with the will of God, so that you can begin operating in the purpose for which you were expressly created by God. I've been thinking about what my unique "mission" might be in life - what great big, important thing I could be doing for God. I've been praying for nearly a slid 2 years that God would reveal His will for my life. I've even talked to several people about how I felt like my "something big" was just on the horizon, a hazy shadow of a picture that I could almost put my finger on, but not quite. I've asked for prayers and advice from many trusted friends and all I've gotten are answers that leave me scratching my head, wondering: "Is that it, seriously. That's all you've got."

Well, the revelation I got this week was really just what everyone has been saying to me my whole life.

ONE - start where you are. If I am not faithful in the little things, in the humble beginning I which I currently find myself, it's foolish to think that God would move me into some bigger role. See, I've been a mother since April 1994, and for as long as I can remember I have thought of myself as "just a mom.". And, as such, I've been looking for the great big, important thing that's just around the bend.

HELLO!!! I AM A MOTHER!!! Really, what more important job is there in the world than the preparation of a young person for entry into the world as a n honorable, contributing, Jesus-loving member of society, equipped for living successfully in the eyes of God!? And here I am, here I have been, looking for my purpose! DUH!

TWO - surrender. I must be willing to surrender my own plan for my life to Gods plan for me and be willing to follow Him obediently WHEREVER He leads me, even if - and maybe, especially if - it's not what I wanted or what I thought I wanted.

THREE - a little less talk, a lot more action. Regardless of whether or not I am currently operating in a grand mission in service to The King, there are still things I can do. For instance, on my Pinterest page, I found a pin that touched a spark in me. I immediately thought, I could do that. I should do that. That thing: blessing bags for the homeless. A gallon zipper-closed, plastic Baggie that contains various personal hygiene items, snacks, and such. I found that Pin a few months ago. Want to know what I've done about it? Yup, you guessed it! Not a thing!

Another thing I've been thinking about is sponsoring a child through Compassion International. After all , my oldest son sponsors a child on the money he makes working, FOR TIPS, as a bagger at the commissary.

For the last few months, on these very pages, I have talked, at great length, about how WE, as Christians, could be doing so much more to alleviate the suffering in the world. Yet here I am being shown up by my 17-year-old. WHAT??!!

So, why this post? Well, this week, my family's challenge for Lent was to write a blog post about what we think needs changing and what we intend to do about it. What I have decided needs changing is ME! More specifically, what needs changing is my actions. How can I get on here, posting blog after blog about things needing to be different without doing anything about it? You can't lead someone by pushing them from behind. You can't lead someone by standing in front of them, trying to pull them along. All any of us can do is what we've been told by God and leave he results to Him. Beyond that, I can only do what I've been given and you all can only do what you've been given.

Starting today, I AM going to be the change I want to see in the world. That's my challenge.

What's yours?

Do we really have it right? When will we know?

 The ladies of Severn Covenant Church (myself included) are doing the Kay Arthur study of Amos.  I've been thinking a lot this past year about the state of things in the world and I'm concerned.

I've been wondering:  What if we are getting it wrong?  I've spent plenty of time in worship singing songs asking God to help me love others like Jesus, asking Him to give me eyes to see others like He sees them, and all I can wonder is:  do my actions reveal anything of the sort?

 The new song by Casting Crowns - Jesus, Friend of Sinners - mentions that there is no shortage of people who wonder was Christians are against, but how many really know what we're for?

Amos 5 is a funeral dirge in which Amos says that people are praying for "the day of the Lord" but he warns them that they might be disappointed when it arrives because they may find that they are not going to end up on the side they think.  If all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, then I have to think that these verses are too.

46.2 million people in the United States live in poverty.
     Over half of the world's entire population lives on less than $2.50 per day.
     About 1 billion people lack access to clean water.
     There are nearly 27 million people in modern-day slavery today.

 With these numbers,
 how can I sit back,
day after day,
drinking my nice, clean water,
in my nice, warm house,
with my children who nice and safe,
while we probably throw out
more food a day
than some people will see
in a week
and think that I
will not be held accountable,
to think that I will not have to
answer for this
when I stand before the Lord?

And in light of the Amos 5 scriptures, I ought to be humbled to my core, ashamed to let myself get so complacent, and so apathetic to the cares of so many of God's children. 




 If we are all created to be in relationship, if we are all really connected, since we have the same Creator, shouldn't it bother me that there are people not 30 miles from me, in the heart of DC, who do not know from where they will receive their next meal?

I have to wonder...  if we are all really connected, then shouldn't it break my heart that there are people in the world who don't have even half of what I have?


Just one of the things I'm thinking about today.......

As usual, thanks for your indulgence,

Patty

A Little Busy

Sorry for the shortage of posts last week.  Since Lent has started, I've been trying to limit my postings and my overall computer time.  It's entirely too easy to get wrapped up in the Internet and not accomplish anything.

Last week was our international food week, and I simply didn't have the time to be on here, and cook, and get my housework done.

I did accomplish something pretty major though!  I have bought a domain name for my future, charity-based, business.  I am going to call it "The Least of These."  There will be a line of cards, t-shirts and possibly book bags and the emphasis is going to be on raising people's awareness of the myriad opportunities available to get involved.  From the research I've been doing, it seems that there are plenty of organizations out there who are busy, trying to help the poor, and such, however...there's still so much that can be done.  This is just my attempt at putting my money where my mouth is, and being a good steward of the talents I've been given, in hopes of making a dent in the suffering in the world.  I've already got several ideas stewing.  Right now, all I need is a little bit more "know how" for some of the projects I want to tackle,and then, I'll be in business.

Until such time as I have products for you all to consider, why not hop over to the links page, or the shopping page and see if you can't find some other worthy cause to help out.  Remember, even Jesus left the taking care of His needs up to His Father.  Why not trust God with taking care of you and ask Him to show you how you can help take care of the rest of His children?

Until next time,
Patty

The Tabs are Complete!!!

Hi there everyone!!!

I know I posted yesterday that I would have some links available for you all to click on, but.......
I know, I know...they were unavailable.  I fully intended to publish the tabs, but things took me a little longer than I thought they might.

Now, however, they are complete, and you may browse to your heart's content.

Thank you for your patience, and your indulgence,
Patty

The Rubber Meets the Road

I’ve been wondering…

What if I put my money where my mouth is?

          What if, instead of just sitting around in homegroups, Sunday services, and youth group meetings talking about the problems of the world, Christians of all ages banded together and started acting like we really believed the WORLD was our MISSION FIELD?

          I do believe Jesus came to heal the sick and love the loveless, those that society has cast aside as unlovable, untouchable, unworthy.

          And I know a lot of people who say they believe the same thing.

          But what I’m wondering is:  do my actions line up with my words?

• Have I shown love to those hardest to love?
• Have I touched the untouchable or have I allowed their condition touch me?
• Have I shown honor and given worth to those deemed unworthy?

Or have I sat inside my nice, warm house, attended my nice, cozy church with others just like me and whined that somebody ought to do something about the injustice in the world?  I think, perhaps, I’ve spend a lot more time talking than I’ve spent doing.  I think I’ve let fear of failure, rejection or ridicule stop me before I’ve even begun!

                                                          Well, NO MORE!!!

Helen Keller said:

“I am only one; but still I am one.  I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.  I will not refuse to do the something I can do”

          and

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”

          finally,

“Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all—the apathy of human beings.

          I am convinced that the opposite of apathy has to be hope.  And with that, I would add that Helen Keller also said:

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

          and

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

                    So…what are we going to do?

                                What can you do?

                                                What can I do?

To answer that, I have compiled a list of websites (see the tabs at the top of the page, to the right of the Home tab) that offer opportunities to get involved, to make an impact in the lives of people you may never meet, but who, by virtue of being on Earth, are part of your life.

And who, after looking as these resources, are now partly your responsibility.

                                “Why?  How’s that?” you say.

Luke 12:48 sums it up pretty nicely.  To whom much is given, much will be required.

          You see, we will not be held accountable for what we do not know.  But once we are education on a topic, we then have a requirement to do something about what we know.  We will be held accountable for what we know and for what we do with what we know.  We are responsible for doing something to make the situation better, or to live our lives in such a way as to draw other people’s attention to that situation.

          I have decided that I will no longer turn a blind eye to the suffering of others.  I will no longer pretend not to see the things that I do not want to confront. 

          The information that I am going to provide on these pages comes from various sources, and all links go to pages that address topics that I feel strongly about.  Maybe you’ll find one that sparks your interest.  Maybe it’ll spur you on to finding your own cause to work on. 

I don’t know where this will lead, but there is one thing I do know:

                                What you do with what you learn is between you and the Lord.

I love you all, lots and lots.  Have a great day!

And, as usual, thanks for your indulgence,

Patty

Stepping Outside Yourself

So, this is the first full week of Lent and today begins our official RELENTLESS ACT:S OF SACRIFICE challenge.

This week’s challenge involves sacrificing our surroundings and we have chosen to sacrifice T.V. for the week.  And during the time we will be writing a letter a day to 5 different people.

This is also my 5^th day of my own fasting coffee and negative speaking.  The coffee has not been the ordeal that I thought it would, though I did really want a cup of coffee yesterday afternoon after church.  The negative speaking, however, has been a much harder challenge.  I do have children, after all.  And with the stuff we’ve had going on in our lives, I’ve had to be really purposeful about what comes out of my mouth.  But, I must admit, I have never been one to shrink from a challenge of this type.  I mean, when my husband went overseas for 18 months, I needed to lose weight, and I chose to join a weight-loss group between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  AND, I actually lost weight over the holidays.  I figure if I can lose weight over Christmas, then I can choose my words carefully, and not speak negatively during a difficult time in our lives.  I think this is also precisely why I felt led to take on this challenge during Lent at precisely this time.  I’ve been feeling very much like a negative person here lately, and not liking it (or myself) that much for the way I have been responding to those around me, simply because I am stressed.  I have been spending entirely too much time focusing on negative things and not enough time trying to find the positive side of things.  

 This simply had to change!!!

As for the LENT 2012 challenge, I was thinking that maybe some of you might be wondering why you should bother or where you should (or could) start.

Well, I’m not sure I can adequately explain why you should bother.  All I can tell you is why I bother.

          See, I was raised in church.  I know all the right things to say.  I’ve known how to behave (Whether I’ve always done it is another story).  But I recall sitting in church during my high school years thinking there has to be more to being a Christian than just getting my ticket punched and riding the train to Heaven.  Not that I thought I had to work my way there, but I felt like I ought to be doing something – to express my gratitude, to show that my salvation meant something to me, or just to show that I was saved.

          Since then, I have come to realize that my everyday life ought to reveal that I am saved and that my salvation means something.  But I do not want to be just another person here on Earth taking up space, not caring about anything outside of my line of sight, not contributing.  I want there to be a void when I’m gone that people have to rush in to fill because Nature abhors a vacuum.  I want to leave a legacy, to leave something behind worth looking at.  I want my eulogy to write itself.  And I want my existence to be something more than really words can express on my tombstone!  I want people to remember that I cared about more than just myself!  That’s why I bother.

                                      BUT, WHERE TO START?

Wow!  Well, that depends on where you are, what your resources are, and what you have access to.

The point behind getting involved is to get your mind off yourself and on to others.

This doesn’t have to involve spending any money, or being some huge celebrity with a large audience – more mouthpiece than do-gooder.

          For instance, you could visit someone in a nursing home.  Nobody wants to be in a nursing home!  Least of all the residents.  How about going to your local nursing home and asking to visit a patient who hasn’t had a visitor in a long time.  It’s free and has nothing to do with you!

          How about writing an actual letter to someone!  You know how nice it is, at Christmas, to get a piece of REAL mail.  Not a bill.  Not a sales flyer.  But an honest-to-goodness hand-written letter that somebody took time out of their day to write.  All it will cost you is the price of a stamp and an hour or so.

          You could pick up the phone and call your grandparents.  Or your Momma and Daddy.  Or your great aunt Suzie, or uncle Bud.  Anybody you haven’t spoken to in a while.  Somebody that had an impact in your life that you wish you could tell.  Surely, there’s someone.

          How about finding out the birthdates of all your family members and sending them cards (they have inexpensive cards at all the dollar stores) or giving them a call to let them know you were thinking about them.  No texts, no emails, but actual connection and contact with a real live person.

          In case you missed the trend here, what I am suggesting means you have to step outside yourself for a bit and do something selfless, something from which you do not directly benefit.

                                                                WHY?

            Because life is not all about you!  Life is not all about me!

If you want things in your life to seem better, if you want to change your perspective on your own problems and issue, or your life in general, try putting someone else’s needs before your own.  Try focusing on someone other than yourself for 15 minutes, a couple of hours, or even a whole day.  You may just find that while you were trying to reach out to someone else and make their day better, your own situation has bettered itself a bit.

     Even Jesus came to serve rather than to be served.  Maybe we could follow His lead.  Jesus knew all His earthly needs were going to be met.  He never owned a thing.  He had no property, no home, no place to call His own to lay His head, and yet, He ate and drank and always had a place to sleep and clothes to wear.

                                                       Just think about it!

What would our lives look like if we spend our time serving others, trusting God to take care of us?

                                         It’s something worth considering…..

Well, with that, I am done.

Thanks AGAIN for your indulgence,

Patty

LENT IS HERE!!!!

Today is the first day of Lent.

The “project” the family is tackling this year can be found on the World Vision ACT:S page, under the Relentless ACT:S of Sacrifice link.Lent 2012 - RELENTLESS ACT:S OF SACRIFICE

Week 1 has us sacrificing what surrounds us by re-creating our physical environment to bring important issues to the forefront of our every day lives.

Starting Monday, our family is going to turn off the television and turn on our writing skills.  We will write letters to individuals that we miss, that are under-appreciated, or overlooked.  The first paragraph will explain what we are doing during Lent and why.  The second paragraph will talk about our daily topic and our third paragraph will talk about how we feel about the individual (what we love the most about them, miss about them the most, etc. – MUST BE POSITIVE).  For Monday, the topic is our favorite family past time and why.

For Tuesday:  “Why you are important to me.”  So, whoever gets the letter that day will learn why they are important to the writer.

For Wednesday:  “What helps you stay a good Christian and why?”  This day, the writer will answer the question, and will provide the recipient the chance to answer as well. 

For Thursday:  “What was the last act of kindness you performed and how did it make you feel?”  Again, this question is for the writer to answer.

Friday:  “How do you know that God is real and that He wants us to come to Him and allow Him to live in our hearts.”  The answers to these questions ought to be interesting, especially from the 8 year old. 

Now, for something a bit more personal:  

          In case you may not have gathered from some of my posts, there have been some hard times in our household over the past almost-year.  For the most part, I have not really lost my resolve.  I keep moving forward knowing that the only way to get past an unpleasant thing is to keep moving through.  Stopping only ensures that I will have to go through the same thing again.  I have questions that only God can answer, and right now, His answer has been, “I got it.”  And not just for me, has that been the answer, but for my husband too.  With all that we’ve been going through, and with all the sitting-on of hands that we’ve been doing, I have taken the position that there is no way that things could possibly turn out any other way than in our favor.  I do not say “why me?” because it is immediately countered with “Why not me?”  There are people all over the world who suffer far worse than what we have gone through for me to whine about our lot.

          That being said, I have been made to question some things about my own faith, my own beliefs.  Many of the prayers I have prayed, I have prayed for the sake of our youngest child.  Whether or not God has deemed it so for me to suffer, I find it impossible to believe that God would jostle the young and impressionable faith of an 8 year old.  I do not think that I would get so mad at God for things going south if it were just me, but there are kids involved here.  I mean, my 8 year old prayed for breeze at the age of 4 and God answered.  Not once, but twice.  And the second time, the breeze continued to blow until we were done needing it.  That is the kind of faith that we have raised him to have.  This young guy, however, has absolutely no idea what’s going on in our house right now, nor does he need to, and I just cannot fathom that it would come to pass that I would have to explain things taking a turn for the worse.  Whether or not God would allow this to come to pass in my own life is beside the point.  I pray that God loves my youngest enough to let this pass over our house.

          Now, however, I am left with a problem.  Does not God love him just as much as me?  Is he not God’s just as much as I?  If I can find it possible to trust that God will take care of me, regardless of what comes my way (this thing included), can I not also trust Him to take care of our youngest child?  I know that, technically, our children are only on loan to us, and I know that His Ways are not our ways, but all I am left to say is “But, come on!  Isn’t enough, enough?” 

          I know I can do whatever God calls me to do, because He will equip me to do it, but where is the justice when a lie could take away my husband’s career, his reputation, and his freedom?  Where is the justice that this lie could mean that our youngest child could grow up without his father? 

          I know that God is sovereign, absolutely.  I know that children grow up without fathers all over the world, and through no fault of their own.  I know that God will take care of us one way or the other, but my prayer that it will be the one way, and NOT the other.  And I pray that God loves our youngest enough to let justice prevail over a lie. 

          I know that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, so my prayer is that He will not choose to take away the gift that is my husband and the father of our children.

          Now, with that, I have been led to take on another challenge this Lenten season. 

Matthew 5:44 says:  “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

Luke 6:27-28:  “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:35 - But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

Romans 12:14 - Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

1 Peter 3:9-12 - Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.  10For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

          So, from here on, my goal is not to speak negatively about those who are involved in this situation.  It is to pray for them, and to wish them well, and to stop myself (taking every thought captive) whenever I find myself about to say something that would tear them down.

          All I can talk about is what I’m thinking and feeling right now, and right now, I cannot see that I would turn away from God.  I certainly cannot guarantee that I will not get mad at God.  I believe that God’s shoulders are big enough to handle any anger that I may have.  Since I believe it is futile to withhold from Him how I am feeling, I have to believe that I have to be honest with Him before I can get any kind of breakthrough whatsoever, regardless of how this whole situation turns out.  My prayer is to be able to say that common sense and justice prevailed, but if I cannot, then I have to trust that God has me AND MY CHILDREN squarely in the palm of His Hand and that He will take care of us; that he will be a husband to me and a father to my children and that He will provide for us.

          In reality, if things do go south, then God would have to prove even mightier to us than He has ever had to before.  And while I am sure that He can do that, I have to be honest and admit that my hope (my confident expectation) is that this is not going to be the case.

Again, thanks for your indulgence,

Patty

The Challenge!

Remember my last post:  I asked you to check back with me on Monday to learn more about my challenge?

Well, don’t you just hate it when God gives you a holy smack-down, humbling you to the point of tears?  Okay, maybe hate is not quite the word.  But, it smarts nonetheless.

That is precisely what happened to me on Saturday.

     I’ve been feeling a prodding in my spirit for over a year now (probably it’s more like two years) that I need to be doing more here on this Earth than just taking up space.  And I’ve been on the look-out for ways to do exactly that; which is great.  I’ve been sharing Facebook status messages and blog postings on ways people can be involved and make a difference in their communities.  Sadly, however, in my own life, I feel I’ve come closer to being all talk, than I have being all action.

What makes me say this?

Saturday morning, I was browsing the Internet, poking around in websites dedicated to different social justice issues, looking at different outlets online that sell various products that donate their profits to charity and this thought occurred to me:

“Yeah, I could shop at these places, but what if that’s all I ever do?”  

That thought was immediately followed by:  “So what!  Right now, you aren’t even doing that!”

     And I haven’t been.  I could buy more products that “give back.”  I could volunteer more.  I COULD do a lot of things….but I haven’t been doing anything but talking about what I could be doing.

     Those remarks left me questioning what it is I’m really looking for.  What it boils down to is this:

Do I want to DO important things?  OR  Do I just want to be told I’m important?

“What if all I ever am is part of someone else’s support structure?  “

“So what if you are?”  I heard.

So what if I am called to be a leg and not a hand, or the mouth or the head?  Is the leg less important because it doesn’t soothe, or speak, or think?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

And without the legs, can the feet carry the head where it needs to go, the mouth where it needs to speak, the hands where they are needed to serve?

This leads me to my motivational verse for today:

     Matthew 20:28 – “…even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (ESV).”

On that note:

A while back, on Facebook, I posted that, where my kids are concerned, I need to talk less and say more.  Apparently, where my faith is concerned, I need to say less and do more.  With that, I have taken my initial steps.  First, as a special treat for me (purely motivational, to get me in the spirit – wink, wink, nod nod), I purchased my first pairs of TOMS shoes.  If you are not familiar with TOMS, you should check them out.  (Here’s a link to their website where you can read about their mission and vision: http://www.toms.com/our-movement)

On a more serious note:

Lent is coming up.  Though we are not Catholic, my husband and I always find something to fast for the 6 weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.  It has to be something substantial, something that will make you “feel” it.  My honey gives up Coca-Colas.  I have given up everything from chocolate, to TV, to meat.

This year, we are doing something a little different. 

World Vision ACT:S – http://www.worldvisionacts.org – has a revolutionary idea for LENT 2012, called

Relentless ACT:S of Sacrifice.  They describe is as “a series of creative challenges to explore what it looks like to put others before ourselves in our day-to-day lives.”

I got this from their website:  www.worldivisionacts.org/lent2012 

Week 1 – Sacrifice what surrounds us by re-creating our physical environment to bring important issues to the forefront of our everyday lives.

Week 2 – Sacrifice what feeds us by expanding our worldview through the food and information we take in.

Week 3 – Sacrifice what describes us by re-examining how we represent ourselves and our priorities to others.

Week 4 – Sacrifice what calls us by using our unique talents to fight injustice.

Week 5 – Sacrifice what consumes us by re-orienting our everyday activities to activities that help make change in the world.

Week 6 – Share our sacrifice with others by applying what we’ve experienced to being a creative activist and make issues come to life for others around us.

Have I piqued your curiosity yet?  Want to do something that could change your life?  Want to start doing something that could have an impact in the world?  Go check them out! 

Still not convinced?  Here’s their video.  Take a look and see if something doesn’t stir inside you!

I dare you to watch their videos and not be moved….

Or you can go check them out on Vimeo:  http://vimeo.com/36169568

The Parables of Luke 15 and Accepting a Challenge

During Bible class this week, my daughter and I tackled the parables of Luke 15:  The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin & The Prodigal Son.

Something I had never realized before struck me as I read those parables:  

     

The shepherd goes off in search of the lost sheep that 

BELONGS TO HIM!

     The woman hunts for HER lost coin.

     The father welcomes his son BACK HOME!

What I realized, or learned afresh, is that we belong to God.  We were NEVER created for life in the world in its current state, but rather we were initially created to live in peace, in blissful contentment in communion with God in paradise!

Knowing that, is it any wonder we are all miserable and stay that way so long as we try to fill our lives with anything other than a relationship with our Creator. 

Thinking we can live apart the Lord makes as much sense as cutting down a tree, expecting it to still be able to survive once separated from its roots!

I've been a Christian, at least in name, for a long time.  I've known for a while that Jesus Christ is the shepherd, the woman, and the father of the parables in Luke 15.  And He never gives up on the lost because they belong to Him.

These parables were prompted by the murmurings of the scribes and Pharisees about Jesus consorting with tax collectors and other notorious sinners.

Reading those parables this week left me feeling convicted.

Are we not called, as Christians, to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ?  How long have I neglected the lost sheep, priding myself on the 99 safe ones?  How long have I settled for the 9 coins I have, never giving a thought for the lost coin?  Finally, how many times have I behaved as the "brother who stayed," complaining about the love and grace heaped upon the "brother who strayed?"

This will not do.

For me, IT STOPS NOW!

On Monday, I'll let you know what I'm going to do about it.

If you're ready for an adventure, check back on Monday for a challenge you can take to bust yourself out of your own comfort zone and begin living a radical new walk.  

A walk that is no longer ALL ABOUT YOU!

Thank You for Your Indulgence,

Patty

P.S.  If you are interested in checking out the parables we've been working through, you can hop over to http://www.padfield.com/downloads/ntbooks.html.  In the first section on the page, entitled New Testament Survey Books, the 5th link - A Study of the Parables of Jesus - is the study we are doing.  It's great to work through if you are unfamiliar with the parables, want to learn more about them, or have kids you'd like to teach the parables.

My Missing Post from Yesterday and How it Has Helped Me Figure Out What to Say Today

So, I fully intended to post something yesterday.  I was out and about last night, had my iPad with me, and typed and typed and typed something that I was going to email to myself, so that I could post it on here.


It was a "Winds-day" themed blog dedicated to how my body is changing and how it's driving me crazy.  For the longest time, if I couldn't get around to eating before my stomach started growling, I would get very grumpy.  It was so bad, that I took a quote from "The Incredible Hulk" and tweaked it a bit to fit the way I felt during those times:  "You wouldn't like me I'm hungry."  It was a standing joke for the longest time.


Well, all that has changed, and it is now no longer a joke, as now it is rare that I feel hungry before I get grumpy.  It seems that if I don't eat nearly every 2 hours, I get grumpy.  I can't focus my eyes very well on what I'm doing, and I can't think straight.  There are times when I'm so angry I just want to hit things.  And do not look at me cross-eyed, or else.  It takes nothing to spin me up.  I feel quite shameful about it.  It's been going on for about 3-6 months now, I guess (it's hard to remember when it started), and the grumpiness still catches me off guard, which really is inexcusable since I am at home, WITH MY FOOD, nearly all day!  You'd think I'd have learned by now.


Well, that was the state I was in last night when I typed what I was thinking about posting for yesterday's Winds-day posting.  I was only going to post about how maddening this particular post was, but looking back over what I wrote, it was pretty caustic.  That notwithstanding, I was in my van, running some errands with my husband for our live-in pseudo-adopted 4th, and oldest, child that were taking longer than they should have (in my hunger-induced opinion).  And all I had was an empty water bottle, a full bladder (b/c my water bottle was empty), and a mini-bag of pretzels.  The plan was to drop our oldest 2 children off at their weekly pre-Navy-bootcamp meetings and then go eat.  But because the errands took too long, the boys missed all but the last few minutes of their meeting (which was "almost done" when we showed up, but still lasted another hour).  I even passed up the change to go get coffee at the Starbucks in the same strip mall because the meeting was "almost over."  So, I was a little steamed while I wrote that post.  To say that it was passionate would be an understatement, but it definitely would not be something that I would be proud to have on this page in  a clear state of mind.  


So, that's why I'm not blogging about it until today.  Today is Thoughtful Thursday and my thoughtful act for today was to reconsider posting what I typed yesterday and to opt for this post instead.  


Thankfully, God is a God of second chances, and His mercies are new every morning.  With the way my body's been behaving lately, I think I can honestly say that they are new every few hours or so, because as soon as I eat, my whole outlook brightens.  It's weird and amazing and quite gracious!  How humbling it is to know that God loves me just as much ugly as He does beautiful.  Even more humbling is knowing that He loved me so much when I was ugly that He sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for me, to bear all my ugliness when He had none of His own, just so that I could have the chance to be reconciled with my Creator!  Thank you Lord!!!


And thank you for second chances!


Again, thanks for your indulgence,
Patty

The Plan, The Plan

So, precious readers, though I don't know who you are, I do know that you are there because I have looked at my "Stats" page and I am impressed.  I am not surprised that some folks from the United States have read my posts, what did impress me was that I have readers in Germany, and even 1 in Latvia.  SWEET!

Yesterday, I posted that I have a plan.  I got the line-up figured out.  This is what you all have to look forward to.

First:  Mondays are for Motivating or Get Moving Mondays
     Mondays, I will be posting ways to stay motivated, quotes that move and inspire me, or various exercises that I'm doing, going to try, or are interested in trying.  Feel free to chime in with your own suggestions.

Second:  Grati-Tuesdays, Check Your Atti-Tuesday, or AltiTuesday (depending on what mood I'm in).
     Grati-Tuesdays will be about things for which I have to be grateful, or what it means to be grateful.  There are so many things in this world to be grateful for, I think they ought to be mentioned.
     Check Your Atti-Tuesdays.  From time to time, everyone needs an attitude adjustment.  I will be posting those things that have been helpful in keeping me in check.  Be ready for some "ouch" factor.
     Alti-Tuesday.  When I think of altitude, I think of the heights:  mountain tops, birds on the wing, moments that have left me feeling high as a kite, or have left me wanting more and more of God and what He wants for my life (which, by default, has to mean less of my own way).

Third:  Worshipful Wednesday, or "Winds-Day" (since the blog is called "Breezes" and Blooms)
     Worshipful Wednesdays are going to be dedicated to the hymns I grew up listening to and singing in my Papaw's church, New Liberty Presbyterian Church, in Simpson, IL.  They have a great group of people there, and the hymns they sing, though I thought they were boring when I was younger, have come to mean a great deal to me, now that I'm older and I understand what they really mean.
     Winds-Days will be about the winds of change and how they blow into our lives; sometimes coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb, sometimes, blowing and swirling around us to the point that we think we will be caught up and carried away.  However, we have a refuge, a place to go during the stormy times, where we know we can be sheltered.  These posts will be about finding shelter in the cleft of The Rock (and I don't mean Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson).

Fourth:  Thoughtful Thursdays, Thirsty Thursdays, or Thrifty Thursdays
     Thoughtful Thursdays - take some time to think about people you don't see everyday.  Those people who are a part of your life, but not everyday.  Call them up, let them know you were thinking about them.  Reconnect with old friends.  Call up your Great Aunt Suzie.  Thoughtful Thursdays will be dedicated to reminiscing about the people who have helped shape me into the person that I am today.  And, hopefully, to getting you to do the same thing.
     Thirsty Thursdays - Think John 4:14.  "...but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  Or else, it will be about drink recipes that I have found that I would like to try, recipes for mixes you can make and give as gifts, or drinks to share with friends with whom you really ought to spend more time.
     Thrifty Thursdays will bring budget tips, recipes that will help you stretch your grocery dollar, and various time/money saving projects you can tackle yourself, all designed to help you feel more like the mom you always thought you'd like to be, or want to be and thought you didn't have time to be.  In this section, I will also include profiles of various friends who have developed their own handy ways of homemaking/money-saving/consignment sale shopping, etc., as well as different websites from which you can borrow tips and tricks to help you in your attempts to live on your own budget.

Fifth:  Fret Not Fridays, Friendly Fridays, or (since I like to travel) Frommer's Fridays
     Finally - we come to Friday!  Gotta love Fridays!
     Fret Not Fridays boil down to one saying:  "If you pray, why worry?  If you worry, why pray?"
     Friendly Fridays - think "Random Acts of Kindness" - Things you can do to make someone else's day a little brighter, anonymously, or otherwise.  And why it's important.
     And probably one of my favorites will be Frommer's Fridays.  Everyone likes to dream about the places they'd like to go.  I know there are plenty of places in the world I'd like to see, and I am thoroughly convinced that I can find something of beauty everywhere I go, if I just take the time to look for it!  That's what this post will be about.  Also, I will include snippets from a book that I bought and like to flip through occasionally, called:  "Frommer's 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference"  Then, if you can't make it to any of the places high-lighted, I'll drop links to sites that will direct you to places you can volunteer in your own area, so you can begin to implement your own plan to better the world you live in!  Remember, we all have the responsibility to leave the world a little better than it was when we found it.


NOW - Since it is Tuesday.  I am going to talk about gratitude and what I'm grateful for.  Sorry, but this is going to be a bit of a cop-out.  Why do I say that?  Every thing that you just finished reading is what I am grateful for today.  I have needed a plan and have been trying to figure out what I wanted to do with this blog.  Now I've got it!!!  So, I am grateful for having a plan and at least some semblance of direction during a time of my life when things seem to be so "up-in-the-air."

So, once again, Thank you for your Indulgence,
Patty

Finally, A Plan!!

I have been wondering what to do with my blog in terms of posting, as I do not have any kind of schedule, and virtually no plan.  Nobody wants to read the meanderings and ramblings of a bored housewife who doesn't know what she wants to say.  So, there has to be a purpose.  This has been my goal since the start of the new year.  Of course, you can't really tell it by looking at the number of entries I've posted.

Well, now I finally have it.

Thanks to a Pinterest post based on the book One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp, the website aholyexperience.com and the website: http://onethousandgifts.com/gifts-for-youI will now be posting about my own 1000 Gifts and the impact they are having on my life.  Mine is not the only blog to do this I know.  I have seen many others, but have not, as yet, linked to theirs.  That is also in my plan.

Furthermore, I will begin to have different "days" - much like many other bloggers I've seen.  My goal is to make this something that people will want to check in on, rather than something they look at and say, "Oh..."  So, for now, all I am sure about is "What I'm Reading Wednesday."  Maybe, Inspirational Mondays.  I know, for a fact, that I do not have plans for Saturdays and Sundays, as those are family time and will not be interrupted by blogging.  Why be on the computer cataloging my days to people who don't live with me, when I can be spending that time with the people who do?

So, beginning today, the challenge is "3 things outside" that I am thankful for.

It's winter here in MD.  I love winter.  I can always put on enough clothes to get warm, but I can't always take off enough to cool off.  So bring on the cooler temperatures!

Today, what I found to be thankful for is:

frost covered grass, naked trees, the crossing guards that help our children cross the streets safely, a singular frost covered leaf glistening in the sunlight, and a pile of wood sitting outside our back door that my sons collected with my husband for family nights around the grill spent burning wood (because we like fire), roasting marshmallows, and grilling yummy food

More will follow..

Thanks for your indulgence,
Patty

It's amazing how quickly things can change!

All I can say is WOW!

On January 3, 2012, I posted that we were getting a house and would close on the 6th.  On the 4th, I found out there might be a complication.  On the 5th, it was confirmed!  Nope, no house.

The story is still progressing!  That's all I have to say for now!

New Things in store for 2012!

Man alive, what a year this is going to be.

First, we've got a new home!  Well, it's new to us.  We'll be closing on Friday.

I'm starting a book (the ideas are flowing) and I already have a working title that I adore.  I will not share it on
here as I am too suspicious, or superstitious, and do not want to jinx myself.  Research has begun.  I've nearly filled up one tablet already and I've only been working on this for a week.  Of course, I've been working on it nearly every waking hour for a week.  Every new idea I have leads to 5 or 6 more.  What's the best is that I've been telling "The Bug" about it and he's even coming up with ideas.  Bang up ideas too!!  I'm waiting until I get home to really get started b/c there are still some things I need to run by my man, i.e., I need maps drawn and am not altogether happy with what I've done so far.

My man will retire from the Navy, and begin a new job.  My oldest will graduate high school and join the Navy.  My only-est girl will get her driver's license.  Hopefully, my man and I will take a trip outside this country (a dream, I know, but a good one).  We'll be in charge of the Halloween thing at our church this year (for the first time).  You name it, it looks like we'll be into it.

I've also come up with a new idea for my hooded scarves (I've tweaked it a bit), and am going to be taking pics of it to post as I am so excited about how they look now!!  I love wearing them the way they look now, and have already had a few requests from family members for them b/c they like them so much.  Can't wait until I get home so that I can snap some shots and post them.

I've set up a Pinterest account and am now collecting plenty of pins for ideas for all kinds of things I want to try, in so many different areas that interest me.  I am SO excited for 2012.  Here's praying that I can look back on this year, a year from now, and say that it was as productive as it looked like it was going to be a year ago.

Happy New Year to you all!  Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other!