Fighting the Good Fight

Some days we wonder why we fight.  The battle is won. Our amazing Savior secured the victory.  Heaven is our home.  So why fight on?  Why strive to do what is right when what is easy is so much.....well, easier?  Why struggle against our nature when giving in is so...natural?  Why be cheerful in the face of adversity when throwing temper tantrums feels so right?  Why fight when victory is ours?

.  Because living like victors means acting like the King.  Because giving up is for quitters, and who wants to be a quitter. Because there is joy in battle and small victories...true, reviving, heart shining joy.  Because those around us will be strengthened, encouraged, and uplifted when our joy rubs up against them.   And because it is the right thing to do.

Lift up the standard of the King and fight on.  Stand strong, and others will rally to your side.   The battle may, at times, be exhausting, but the rewards our worth the struggle. Fight the good fight, never complaining, knowing there is glory in battle for the strong warrior.

p.s.  this is my favorite "battle scene!"  

A Bad Day

Today was a bad day.  I worked ALL day trying to clean house and accomplished very little.  Example, the sheets that were done washing @ 9:35am did not make it into the dryer until my seventh attempt to complete that chore @ 6:30pm.  They were going to go on the clothesline, but......  Many of the days disturbances were caused by my three-year old testing every boundary ever set by parents and God.  Yes, that includes the law of gravity.  In case you are wondering, it is still in effect.  And, it is still not okay to hit your Mom, sister, or the little girl your Mom babysits.  Errands that were supposed to be done by 10:00am were not started until 10:30am because we had to wait on someone else. School started off with six conversations in 60 minutes with my daughter about focus.  By the time she had gained hers, I had lost mine.  My poor husband came home to a woman who was wondering how the bright, healthy, energetic college student who spent her days singing and her nights going to concerts and symphonies had become an overweight, poop scooping, nose wiping, maid, laundress, cook, and nincompoop!

Hero that he is, my husband sent me to my room (how I have longed to be sent to my room!) and made supper....eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy....comfort food.  And then my other hero, my daughter, carried my supper to me on a tray with a homemade place mat that said." 'It Is Well With My Soul.'  I Love You Mom!"  What a beautiful and appropriate reminder from my beautiful and wise little girl. "When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll...."

 Notice at the top I said today WAS a bad day.  Some days, Moms need superheros.  Today I was blessed with that, and what was a bad day turned into a blessed day.  Thank God for people who love me when I am ready to give up, help me pull it together, and remind me that God is still on His throne.  I love this saying:
"The ending is good.  If it is not good, it is not the end."   I hope I will remember that.

Mr. Guest

Today, I dictated a poem by Edgar A. Guest to my daughter.  He is my favorite poet...I have lived so many of his words.   The poem we used today is entitled "Creation."  This stanza I love:

Man writes his loftiest thoughts in words,
  And builds with brick and stone.
But dreams of butterflies and birds
  Belong to God alone.

How magnificent is God for creating an Earth filled with beauty.  Who else could have thought to make a bird or a butterfly.  And not just one kind, but a myriad of species in a rainbow of colors.  If ever we doubt the mercy of God, we only need stop and notice the beauty He put in nature.  Thank you, Mr. Guest, for this well worded thought.

Blessed

Do you have two arms?  You are blessed.  A friend of mine lost one of his arms today.  Can you take care of your children?  You are blessed.  A friend of mine can't do that on her own right now.  Do you have a loving spouse?  You are blessed.  A friend of mine is alone tonight and every night.  Do you have children?  You are blessed.  A friend of mine has never and will never have that experience.  Do you have a sound mind?  You are blessed.  A friend of mine is loosing her's.

I read this question somewhere recently and it stopped me in my tracks.  What if tomorrow you awoke to find  ONLY the blessings you had thanked God for today?

WOW!!  What would you still have?  What would you have lost?

So often we are so wrapped up in our own petty troubles and stresses (usually self inflicted)  that we don't recognize how blessed we are. I want to take a step away from my self-absorbed existence and look....really LOOK...at my blessings.  And then I want to thank a wondrous God who would condescend to bless a person as dreadful as I am.  I AM WONDROUSLY, AMAZINGLY, BREATHTAKINGLY BLESSED BY MY LOVING, BEAUTIFUL, MERCIFUL GOD.

The Finish Line!!!!!

The last post of Pinterest week.....YEA!!!  I have had so much fun doing so many pins, but I will be glad to cross the finish line.  A more normal routine should return next week with the start of school, and I am ready for routine.  Remind me of this if I start whining about being in a rut.  Sometimes ruts are comfortable places to be.

The last pin I tried was super silky summer legs.  I gave this pin a test.  After shaving regularly, I put this concoction......................

......on my left leg and shaved again per the instructions.  Then I shaved my right leg normally.

O.K.  I don't usually write messages in the shaving cream, but it is my last pinterest post!!  Anyway, after I showered I tested my legs and the left was silkier than the right.  My mother, daughter, and two of her cousins could also feel the difference.  They might not of wanted too, but they did!  

I don't think I will do this every time I shave...the tub is left oily requiring scrubbing. : /  But for special occasions or a pampering session, it is worth the trouble.

I hope you have enjoyed Pinterest Week as much as I have.  We are heading out tomorrow to go to a church meeting and then school starts next week so it might be a while before I post again.  I hope you can take some time to appreciate the blessings we enjoy every day.  Laugh.  Pray.  Live.

God Bless.

More Pins

YUM!!  That is the word for homemade Samoas.  The pin I used to find the recipe has recipes for homemade versions of all the Girl Scout Cookies.  Samoas are my GS cookie of choice, so I made them for church this Sunday.  I made bar cookies instead of round cookies.  Two observations....they are NOT a cookie to make on Sunday morning, and they would be best with chocolate on the bottom.  These two statements are closely related.  I did not have enough time to wait for the cookies to cool enough to dip, so I just spread my chocolate on the top.  It was very good, but the bottom was a little dry.

Definitely worth cooking again!






Speaking of chocolate, my three year old sat in chocolate sauce at church a couple of weeks ago.  When I went to get his shorts to pretreat, they had disappeared.  I found them this week at the bottom of his toy box.  (why didn't I think to look there before?)  I used the "best stain treatment ever", at least that is what the pin said.  Here is the before picture.

Chocolate sauce sitting for two weeks on light colored shorts.  I was not hopeful.  The results.....

I was sooooo excited.  This is a keeper!  It makes me want to go stain something!!

One evening we tried our hands at shadow puppets.  Everyone got into the act and we had a BLAST!!  Giggles and hand contortions abounded!  Imaginations were sparked!  We were happy.

Dog

Dinosaur

Horse

I still can't make a bear, but I am going to try again soon.

I tried a vinegar foot soak for my tired feet.  It was nice.  I will probably do it again.  However, since there is vinegar and salt in this foot soak, I will wait for the scrape on my toe to heal first.  OUCH!!!  But the scrape did look much better this morning.  Still......OUCH!!!

We tried exploding ziploc bags with vinegar and baking soda.  It was underwhelming.  We much prefer volcanoes or baking soda/vinegar art.

Finally, today, my mother and I made some freezer meals.  We made my regular freezer meals...lasagna, enchiladas, and chicken pot pie.  But we also made some crockpot freezer meals.  Yes, the only thing better than assembling and throwing a meal into the crockpot in the morning is reaching into your freezer, pulling out a bag, and dumping the contents into the crockpot.  These meals were super fast to assemble (in freezer cooking time) and will be sooo handy.  I hope they will be as tasty as they are convenient!

Crock pot meals on top, others on the bottom.  11 meals.  11.  Insert audible sigh of relief here.

You can find all of these pins on my done board.  I have had fun this week, but I AM glad Pinterest week is almost over.  SO MUCH PRESSURE.  ;)  Keep smiling and God bless!!

Following Instructions

When I was in the third grade, Mrs. Golden, my teacher, handed out a worksheet that she had us place face down on our desk.  She then instructed us to read the worksheet from top to bottom and to follow the instructions carefully.  We were not to begin working until we had completely read the worksheet.  We had all day to complete this assignment.

When she allowed us to turn the worksheet over, my heart sank as I read what our tasks for the day included.  Write your spelling words ten times each. (that would have been 150 words)  Do pages 82-88 in your math book. Show your work.  (we were only on page 20)  List all of the states and their capitals. (Little Rock, AR...ummm)  HOW AM I EVER GOING TO GET THIS DONE!!!!

I kept reading, though I was tempted to begin working right away.  And finally, at the bottom of the page, was this last instruction.  Disregard all of the above.  Sign your name at the top of the page and turn in your worksheet.   WHEW!!

I was the only student in my class to read all the way through before starting to work.  While the rest of my class wrote spelling words, tried multiplying two digit numbers, and looked for the capital of Montana, I read my library book and ran errands for the teacher.  In third grade I knew how to follow instructions.

This ability of mine has declined greatly in the intervening years.  I give you Exhibit A.

This is a picture of some boiled eggs I made in order to test the pin "the perfect boiled egg."  This was not the expected result.

The words pinch and gently are important words.  I was to add a pinch of baking soda to the water. I added about 2 TBS.  I was to gently "bumper car" the eggs.  I shook them like a can of spray paint.  I didn't read the directions carefully, and I certainly did not follow them. And the resulting boiled egg soup was definitely not the next big thing!

I tried again, following the directions this time, and came out with better results.

This egg turned out quite well and was just like the pin said it would be.  It's companion was not as good, but still functional.  I think this would work best when doing several eggs at once instead of just one or two.  

I have more pins to share, but I'll wait until tomorrow.  For tonight, I just want to remember what Mrs. Golden tried to teach me so many years ago......following the directions makes life MUCH easier!!