Chaos Leads Us To Toiling, Escaping Rest

Three Rules of Work:
Out of clutter find simplicity;
From discord find harmony;
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
-Albert Einstein

Are you having trouble finding that place of quiet rest? I recently read a book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss by that title, and was enlightened by her scriptural insights and how important it is to have that daily devotions.

Do you ever find your mind wandering to other things though and can't seem to focus on what is most important? I do. Too many times. Where does your mind wander? For me, it is often to incompleted tasks, things to do, places to go, and could I have done that better or made a better decision?

I have found that clutter robs us of joy and rest. I still fight this almost daily, and decided to bring in some more help in the form of Emilie Barnes. She has many books on the topic of decluttering your Home and your Life. I found several at the library (and don't everyone go out and request them right away, because I might need to renew them. haha). I'm finding many little treasures in her little book entitled, "101 Ways to Clean Out the Clutter," and I will follow it with "The Quick-Fix Home Organizer: Making Your Home Beautiful and Your Life Clutter Free." Sounds peaceful doesn't it?

Imagine a time when you have simplified your life and your belongings so much that you don't feel guilty (or maybe I'm the only one) cozying up in a chair with your Bible, devotional, or just resting and praying. Oh, I have a long way to go, but don't you think it would be worth it?

So far I have a box ready for City Missions, I've sent a few inches of paper and magazines to the trash or recycling, I have another bagful of linens I'm no longer using ready for the Handmaidens garage sale, and I have a milk crate half full of homeschooling items to take and share with some moms at church.

What are you doing to declutter your life and home?

Just a normal day?

Within the span of an hour tonight, several things have occurred...most of them fairly normal.

Mr. Al: Can I go chop some wood?
ME: Sure. (trying not to sound too amazed)

Miss Rose (to Miss Daisy): Are you mad ALL day?
Miss D: NO. (hmmm...)

Miss Rose proceeds to sharpen her pencils and spill the sharpener on the floor which then requires the small dust pan and broom.



ME (to Miss D): Why don't you put on some Casting Crowns? (hoping to lighten her mood)
Miss D: (in a challenging voice) The one you don't like because it's so rocky?
ME: I don't care.
Miss D: Even if I put it on repeat?
ME: I don't care.
Miss D then puts on the original, starts making up dances, then eventually grabs the guitar and plays along to a couple she knows. I continue making a tossed salad in the kitchen. Moods are lightened as praises are lifted to God...the days worries are washed away.

Biscuits

A sweet friend sent this to me, and I just had to share it.



Biscuits

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school.. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"

Life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."

End of February Update

This is always a busy time for us...birthdays, catching up on school hours, and wishing for spring. My uncle sent pictures of the robins at his place with a message that maybe they are on their way back here. I will be so glad to see them.

My dear blog buddy, Toby, commented that this part of the year is a long one, because all new curriculum has lost its appeal but that the end is still a ways off (paraphrase). We are in the same boat here. There is very little charm left in anything that was new this year, but we are delighted to have another year of Wordly Wise completed, Miss Daisy is completely finished with spelling (no Natural Speller for me for a year or two. yay!). I suppose the good news in that is that they'll now have more time for history and science. :-)

We also just finished The Bronze Bow, and we need to find a new read aloud that everyone will enjoy. Suggestions are welcome.

In other news, our street is still a mess, we still have a backhoe or some other machinery in our yard, and there are pipes in various neighbors' yards. They removed the 4' one from our yard on Friday. They accidently cut our phone line getting the spot ready for that one. *smile* It's certainly been an adventure, but hopefully all will be better, and with the exception of one time, the workers have all been courteous...the gas guys were the only ones who earned cookies though. They were the sweetest, even if they did accidently poke through my sewer line.

One more birthday coming up...Miss Rose will be 6 in just under two weeks. She's made me all kinds of promises for all the things she would do when she turned six. Part of me wants to hold her to all of them, but the other part of me just wants to keep her little a wee bit longer.

Sibling sweetness

It was another of the camera moments that I hope my mind never forgets. Mr. Al and Miss Rose were sitting right close playing a came together on Mr. Tech's laptop. Next I know Mr. Al is singing "I wanna hippopotamus for Christmas" in a silly voice with Miss rose chiming in when she knew the words. These moments are fleeting. Treaure every day!

Thoughts for Sunday

I realize I've been sharing more comical quips from our family's life, but that doesn't diminish the daily impact of Christ in our lives. We do struggle, we do fall, and we most definitely look upward. We have so many friends in need right now, and we continue to pray that the Lord's presence will be in their lives and see them through these trying times. He is our hiding place. Our place of refuge.

New thing of the day

(for the record, I remembered for almost 3 hours until I could blog)

In case you were unaware, Miss Rose has made a startlingi discovery today. She informed me that if you curl all of your toes but only your big toe touches the bottom of your boot that it feels like a hoof. To quote her, "It's so weird."

In case you were wondering, I tried it, but I must have done something wrong, because it just felt like I was squishing my toes. Let me know what you discover.