Things that make you go...HMMM???

First, of all thanks to all of you who are enjoying my blogs, I'm loving the feedback....however, I'd really love it more if you would be a follower and comment below the blog...not that I don't love Facebook and all (even if I'm quite frustrated with them right now.) It is just that if you aren't a follower and you don't leave comments I can't direct you to other awesome blogs, and fun giveaways. So follow! Ok, now that I got that out of the way. Here are a few tidbits for you to chew on today.

We (the hubs and I) were cleaning out the garage all weekend in preparation for a garage sale (the one thing I hate more than anything). I usually try to avoid doing garage sales, and just giving my stuff away to goodwill, then I realized that wasn't such a good idea because when I go on my thrifting sprees, I end up buying my stuff back!

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Time....

Thoughts and tidbits for today.....I read a blog today about a lady and her 2 young children,  they were at a park when it started pouring down rain, as she was trying to gather everything up, and run to the car, both children were laughing hysterically at being jostled in their mothers arms and pelted with rain.   At that very moment she went from being completely frazzled to completely calm, standing as the rain soaked every part of their bodies, she dropped her stuff, placed the kids on the ground, and together they began laughing, and dancing in the rain. Some people thought she was crazy, but she realized at that very moment that this was a treasured moment. A moment that doesn't come around very often. A moment where she had a choice to take shelter from the storm, or enjoy the innocence of her children and rejoice in the rain. It made me think of how many missed opportunities have came across in my life. Moments I should have stopped and took the time, to just be in the moment. A moment in time when my children were small and it was the little things that brought joy to them. We get so wrapped up in raising our children according to what society tells us, keeping up with Mrs. Jones (super mom), keeping a perfect home, providing all the best materialistic items, and making sure our children can recite every president in order by the time they are in kindergarden, that we just forget to let them be kids.  I could not wait for each new transition, couldn't wait for them to crawl, walk, hold their own bottle, sleep through the night, buckle themselves in their car seats, go to school, clean up after them selves, and wash their own bodies. I was ready for them to grow up, and now that they are grown up, I feel sad, because those transitions, milestones, should have been seasons, exciting seasons, that I treasured and made time to enjoy every second. 

Many of you reading this have little one's and you feel exhausted by the end of the day. You feel you can never get your house work done, laundry, meals cooked, kids shuffled, etc. I would like to say one thing, your house will never be completely perfect, laundry will always pile up, chicken nuggets are ok, and they have the rest of their lives to be scheduled. So take time to read, color, play barbies/trucks, roll in the leaves, play in the rain, make snow angels, swing. Because it will be nights like this when the house is empty and quiet, no one to tuck in, that you would have wished you would have treasured, enjoyed every moment and made the most of the day by just being a mommy. The clock does not stop, time goes by too quickly, it is what you do with that time that is important. Make the most of the 24 hours God has given you with your family, you never know when the moments will end. In life storms come our way, will you seek shelter and hide, or will you open your eyes like the innocence of a child and rejoice in the moment in front of you? 

Turning 40

Well, I did it! I hit the BIG 40! As most of you know I have been referring to myself as 40 for the past 5 years. I figure once you hit 35 you are almost there anyway. I get told quite often that I don't look 40, well thank you very much you kind people, but I do have a mirror that magnifies 4xx and honey the sun has not been my friend. Thanks to growing up in the 80's where it was rooftops and baby oil with iodine, I am paying the price. I remember spending hours trying to get a tan and now I am spending lots of money trying to remove the damage. If only my kids would take my advice. Anyway, enough about the brown spots and wrinkles, lets move on to my REVELATION about being 40. (Those of you in my Bible study group, notice how I used Revelation like that) My grandmother used to say you don't have any sense until you turn 40. Well, I do believe she was correct. The journey to 40 has came with a lot of ups and downs, many struggles, and a deep need for acceptance. On my 39th birthday, I sat some goals to be completed by the time I turned 40, simple goals, finish my book, and have a better body at 40 than I did at 16. Simple, ha! Should have thought about those goals a little deeper, can't finish a book about life when you haven't been actually "living" your life, and no matter how many sit ups you do, you will never have a 16 year old stomach. As I was processing my life and where I wanted to be, and what I wanted to stand for at 40, (as if this is some major mild stone)I realized that it wasn't what "I" wanted for me, it was what "God" wanted for my life that was the most important. I took a little trip with my Pastor and co workers to visit a very special lady, who changed my purpose and outlook on my life forever. It is amazing how God can use a brief encounter with a stranger to show you how to start truly living. So after that, I began a journey of self discovery. WOW! Is all I have to say. When you ask God to reveal yourself to you,(see yourself as others see you) hang on, it will be a bumpy ride, but so worth it. I was standing in a 3 way mirror, washing my hands when I looked up and saw myself, I mean really saw myself, the reflection of the flesh of me staring back at me. I didn't like what I saw. I lost it right there in front of that mirror, crying my eyes out, and realized I was just a shell, a empty, angry, hardened shell. No substance. I don't know the exact moment I lost the person God created me to be, but I do know the exact moment I found her, and that was in that mirror. From that day forward, I have spent everyday, making my life not about me but about everyone else. I love others like I love
myself, and for those of you who know me, for me to say I LOVE MYSELF....that is a huge feat within itself. But I do, I love the person God has made me. I love that he uses me as a vessel to help others, I love that he gave me all the struggles in my life so I could learn from them and bare witness to God's grace to others, I love that I love every detail about life, I love that I wake up in the mornings telling God, good morning and how can you use me today, I love having God moments all through out the day.I love life! The way I see it, if you are awake and breathing then God has a purpose for you today....what is yours? Don't waste your time, being wrapped up in unforgiveness, or making it about you, because I promise if you do, you will be a walking robot just going through the motions of life. Wake up, breath in the word, and count your blessings. Live your LIFE! God blessed you with it, so make the most of it. Be a blessing to those around you. We can't sit around worrying about today, tomorrow, or the past, because we control nothing, it is a waste of emotional energy, God was, He is, and He will be, which means he has your past covered, your present in his hands, and your future under control. Does all this mean my life is peachy perfect, absolutely not, but it is a journey,it is up to me to decide with what mind set I want to take that journey.  It will take a lot of time and effort to try and erase the damage the sun did to my outside , just like it will take a lot of time and energy to erase the damage we do to our soul. Make it a priority and your life will begin. Just a tidbit of information, I'm sure I will be on my soapbox again soon, thanks for reading....

If this post has some random highlights...I have no idea why! Told you I'm not computer savvy!

Blogging-Yeah!

Oh, I am so excited! I am officially going to be a blogger! I have wanted to do this for many years, but somewhere between being computer illiterate, not feeling like I had much to say, and young children, blogging was put on hold! I'm still not computer savvy, I have plenty to say, just might not be important to everyone, and my kids are grown and leaving me :( that means it is time for momma to blog. 

I first want to thank www.pinterest.com, for getting me started. Yes, I am a pinterestaholic! I begin and end my day scrolling through pages of DIY and Crafts, which then takes me to all these awesome blogs, which of course then means following them, and the people they are following. Yes, in a nutshell, there goes my day. So for those of you who have not discovered pinterest, you have been warned. 

This will be a fun journey, we will laugh together, cry together, we might even get mad together. My blogs will hopefully be helpful, encouraging, motivational, spiritual, and filled with truth, and honesty. What you read is what you will get. I will be as open and real with you as I can be. I hope you stick around, follow me for a bit and see where this journey takes us. Happy Blogging......