An Article I Had To Share

Crosswalk.com is a wonderful Christian website full of articles, advice and other resources. I found an article entitled "Confessions of a Former Housework Hater." Could that be more me? I have been struggling the last few weeks with housecleaning, and, honestly, any kind of responsibilities. I've just been in a funk. I hate it, my husband hates it and I know the kids do, too. I've been waiting for this magic motivation to suddenly appear from nowhere but after reading this article I realized that I can only do what I can do. And more importantly that I can only do what God enables me to do and those things I need to do for the GLORY OF GOD!

Excerpt from the article by Cindy Puhek:
Perhaps I had fallen into the trap of separating the secular and the sacred. Praying, Bible study, and ministry had eternal worth, but keeping my closet clean, I mistakenly thought, was unimportant in view of eternity. Whatever the reason for my dislike of housework, God has changed my heart, and I now work to maintain my home with joy.

Are you a housework hater? Would you rather spend your time, I don't know... blogging? or drinking cappuccinos? While I don't love housework and I am (SLOWLY) realizing that doing it for God glory will make it easier. Starting with the right attitude will also help it go by faster and less painfully.

• Proverbs 31:27
  

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

• 1 Corinthians 14:33
  

³³For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

• 1 Corinthians 14:40
  

⁴⁰But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

TGoF .6

Lord God, You are an awesome and loving God, today I thank you and praise you for/that
#1 Jason has the next week off from work, we are in need of some rejuvenation and he deserves a break.
#2 I got a check from CafePress today!
#3 opening my eyes to a new way of eating. (Please Lord, help me to maintain it and treat my body as a gift from you!)
#4 this is our last (blazing hot) summer in Sicily.
#5 friends. Near and far, old and new.
#6 Bible studies, for helping me "get it".
#7 you are my rock and comforter.
#8 my husband is so patient and attentive to my needs.
#9 our healthy, smart and loving boys.
#10 our little chapel here in Mineo. Mineo Rocks!

Workbox Update

The last two weeks have been busy. I've had to leave the house for doctor visits (just check-ups), birthday parties and grocery shopping. This really throws the whole day off. Which is okay because Joshua is doing preschool stuff. We pick out letters and animals and colors everywhere we go, unschooling, I think its called. I found The Work of Childhood which has great information on workboxing. These are some questions they posted for us "workboxers" to answer.

JOSHUA is three. NIKOLAS is 19 months.

How many boxes do you fill? 6 for Joshua, 3 or so for Nikolas

Do you expect your children to go in order? Joshua- yes, Nikolas-no

Do you use the schedule strips? I use 24 boxes on one sheet for Joshua, I include his entire daily routine from the start of the school day. Nikloas doesn't have a schedule yet.

How long does it take you to fill the boxes? I try to plan ahead of time for the week which cuts down on filling time, so probably ten-fifteen minutes and I typically fill in the morning. I leave the same activities in the boxes for Nikolas.

Do you fill your work boxes EACH night with all new items? I use Joshua's curriculum workbook and My ABC Bible Verses. We usually having matching, coloring and books everyday but I mix those up.

Do you have some boxes repeat each day so there is less filling/refilling? not so much

What do your kids do with the empty boxes? Joshua puts the boxes back on the shelf.

Do you put away the ‘supplies’ each night? or do your kids? I do, but once Joshua is able, he will be helping me.

Anything else you want to add? We are preschooling, so I use the workboxes loosely but Joshua loves doing them. It also helps me mix up the activities so we're not doing the same things all the time.

Food Tracking and Living A Healthier Lifestyle

Much like balancingeverything I very much dislike food journaling. The thought of writing down everything I put in my mouth makes me nauseous. I know that it works and is a great way to reflect on my poor eating habits but it is just another chore for me to do. So balancingeverything recently started her weight loss blog and shared this tip. I love it and have made my own!

This is for an 1800 calorie day, which is the amount recommended to me by a Registered Dietitian for healthy weightloss of 1-2 pounds per week. You can also go to MyPyramid and find out your serving allowances for each day. This is a great article about making smart choices for weight loss.

The American Heart Association is a wonderful resource for learning about heart attack, stroke and the benefits on daily exercise. You can also learn about your BMI and ways to live a healthy lifestyle.

I'm also reading Gwen Shamblin's book entitled The Weight Down Diet. It is a Bible based approach to weight loss but more importantly overcoming overeating and turning to God to fill us up. Believe it or not it all comes full circle; eating, contentment, peace, joy.

-1 Corinthians 3:16
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

-1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

-Romans 13:14
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

-1 Kings 19:7-8
The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank.

Sit down for this!

I am going to share a cleaning tip! My husband bought this for me and I thought he was nuts. He'll buy me anything that might help me clean. I put water, vinegar and a little essential oil in it. I did straight vinegar the other day and it was burning my nose and my house smelled like pickles. We got it for cheaper than amazon has it, so shop around. The pads are washable, I just throw them in with the towels. Worth every penny, especially with all these yucky tile floors.

Spring Cleaning Party!

Check out Simple Mom's Spring Cleaning Party! Check out her Spring Cleaning for Normal People eBook!
I need all the help I can get around this house!

Drowning in Home Management!

I am a follower of the Preschoolers and Peace blog by Kendra Fletcher. I've also downloaded a workshop of hers about getting organized. She is a Christian, homeschool mom of EIGHT! I'm enjoying her current series about how to not drown in home management.

Here is part one. Read it (make sure to look at the comments, too) and then you'll understand what my top five list is...

#1 Time with/learning about God
#2 Nurture my marriage
#3 Quality time with kids/homeschooling
#4 Mom Time (peaceful, productive time)
#5 Home Care (if there were ten this would probably be lower on the list)

Here is part two of her series.
I like how she says "keep our home sanitary" not clean it top to bottom!

Anyway, I love Kendra's realistic approach to life. She is an inspiration! There are so many wonderful articles and resources on her blog! Make sure to check them all out!

TGoF!

I'm thinking this will be my regular Friday post. TGoF! Thank God on Friday! I also challenge any readers to this with me. List ten things that you are thankful for, other than the obvious. Really think about your list. Here is mine...

I am thankful for/that
#1 God was holding my husband in His hands on Sunday when he crashed his motorcycle.
#2 we live in a country (even outside the US) in which we are able to worship our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ, not in fear but with joy.
#3 my boys are healthy, happy and thriving.
#4 my husband has a secure job.
#5 the internet. Honestly, it is a necessity living here.
#6 my patience is getting better.
#7 Joshua is finally figuring out the potty thing.
#8 I have amazing friends.
#9 a great family (even my in-laws!).
#10 God puts up with me and all the junk I do and still loves me for me!

Some verses to think about...

Psalm 7:17
I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 35:18
I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.
Luke 22:19
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I love BibleGateway.com! Search all the versions of the Bible by keyword, chapter or verse.

Have a blessed day! Enjoy your Easter holiday!

P.S. Thanks to the Company Girls for stopping by and saying hi!

Marathon Cleaning

I think everyone is finally feeling better in our house. Nikolas has molars coming in but I think his stomach bug is gone. Motrin keeps that under control. It seems like since we moved here in December, 2006 that we have been sick more than ever before. I do have to take into account that I have kids now an they love to share germs with other kids. But living in a small military community doesn't help. We had to reschedule Joshua's birthday party and the other kids invited either had just gotten over the bug or were in the middle of it.

Believe it or not I actually had some quiet time during all this bodily function mess. It was nice to spend some time with God. And also just read or sleep. I'm so lucky to have my husband home. I don't know what I'd do if he were deployed. He is such a blessing.

So with all my "rest" comes a messy, disaster of a house. There are cracker crumbs everywhere because that was the food of choice most of the weekend. I could see the germs lingering about. I wish it was warmer outside today so I could open everything and get some fresh air in here. I have been disinfecting, bathing, sweeping, dusting, washing and laundering since the sun rose this morning. The kids were more than happy with peanut butter toast for breakfast, good! Minimal mess. Just needed a quick blog break.

Back to life... Thanks for the prayers!

A New Design

I am really excited about my newest design on CafePress and I have to share it. I have been playing with some new paintbrushes and colors in Photoshop CS4. Let me know what you think! If you look around in my store, you'll see how far I've come. I love creating and sharing. I also made my new header! What a productive day even with the sickies!

Tot-Schooling

I am currently loving Tot-School and the 1+1+1=1 blog. These are great resources for tot-schooling activities and fun! I am looking forward to getting workboxes in our "classroom". I am such an organizer!
If you have a blog to share, please comment me and I'll check it out!

I Must Share This!

I have found a great way to balance the house! Home Sanctuary is new favorite place!

I love it but...

I love reading. Books, magazines, blogs. I love to fill my mind with new information or romantic notions. I try to read a book (not including a Bible or Bible study) at least ten minutes a day. If I commit to ten minutes, then I can usually get enough time to finish a chapter.

Here is my current book list for your enjoyment...
1. California (4 short Christian fiction stories)~Billerbeck, Leonhardt-Koehly, Laity & Yapp
2. Adobe CS4 Master Premium for Dummies ~This book is thick and I probably won't ever finish it but it is full of information for the Adobe programs that I (TRY) to use.
3. John 3:16 ~Nancy Moser, technically I haven't started this one yet but I might when I'm done here.

I also am doing two Bible studies and hopefully one more soon.
1. First Place 4 Health's Begin With Christ -This is a weight loss study that I am leading.
2. A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George -This is great and I highly recommend it!
3. I'm really hoping that my husband will be able to re-prioritize so that we can do The Love Dare study together.

As I am writing this, I'm really thinking that I need to put more book time on my schedule! Happy reading!

Scheduling Your Life

I've been doing a lot of research and reading (A TON of) blogs about cleaning, homeschooling, organizing and staying sane all at the same time. I asked friends how they do it. I've come to a conclusion (one that my husband came to a long time ago) that I really need to schedule everything I do. And then the key is... drum roll, please... STICKING TO IT! I am using the week view on Microsoft Outlook. Here is the plan for now... Every week I sit down and go over the plan for the next work week, adjusting and adding appointments or changes. Most of the things I do are recurring, so I set it up that way in Outlook then when I plan the next week I just make changes as I need to. At the start of the week I print three copies, one for my desk, one for the fridge and one for my purse. I make sure to schedule showers and prayer/quiet time, too. I desperately need both! I have also started something that will hopefully help me keep the house a bit cleaner. FlyLady is a CHAOS solver kind of thing. I'm just getting started but am very excited to do more than day one! I'll let you know how that goes. I'd love to know your tips for organizing your days!

Balancing Brains and Brawn

I have recently started homeschooling my son, Joshua. He will be three on March 24th. Time flies! I recently started a preschool curriculum with him. We really needed some structure around our house and this is helping. We go over a letter, color/shape, number and animal/thing each week. As well as read stories and do nursery rhymes. I am adding more ideas all the time. I am trying to make a schedule for our daily activities and all the things I need to get done around the house. Any suggestions? I'd like to get a maid but I don't see that happening. ;)

Balancing Some Work With Life

As a military wife currently living overseas my employment options are limited. But I do all kinds of things to earn a buck or two. My husband wasn't all that happy at tax time because it did make some extra work for him but I didn't spend as much of his hard earned money, right? ;)

I love to do graphic design stuff, even though I'm just getting started I am very passionate about it. I create items and sell them on CafePress. CafePress is a "print on demand" company. POD means that people like me upload their designs into "stores" and offer them for sale. Each designer can customize their store and even choose the price of the items. When a customer orders an item CafePress creates the item and then does the shipping. Pretty easy! Designers earn the amount above the cost of the item that they set. I made over $600 last year. Not too bad, eh?

Something else that I love is purses and bags! I found an amazing company called Thirty-One Gifts. Thirty-One is a faith based company, the name referring to the Proverbs 31, Virtuous Woman. They offer all types of bags, purses and gift items that can be personalized. They are also introducing 31kid, a baby line April 1st! I got a sneak peak and can't wait to order the new stuff. The thing that I really enjoy about Thirty-One is that the main goal of the company and us as consultants is to Celebrate, Encourage and Reward women for all they do. YAY! I also made over $600 with Thirty-One last year.

I do a lot of other things that I'll talk about another day. I did want to mention that in my list of priorities these "jobs" are no where near the top. They are just fun things that I like to do and happen to make money. I am blessed to not "need" to work at this time in our lives. Even though some days it would be great to go to a job, the "job" I do right now is so much more rewarding than I could ever explain to someone who has never done it.

MIA

So, I've been missing in action for a little bit. I've been leading a Bible study and participating in another. My husband is also going to school, so I don't get as much time to kill on the computer. But I have been trying to balance everything and even keep the house clean. A clean house is low on the priority list for me, personally. I wish I had just a little bit of the compulsive-cleaner-itis that some of my friends have. But something I've done to help balance and also get some prayer time is journaling. I have a couple of beautiful journals that have been sitting on the shelf for quite a while now. I sit down and open my journal and think of all the things I'd like to say but I don't know where to begin. I found a great writer, Alyssa Avant that helps people learn to journal. Check out the site and let me know what you think! Have a blessed and balanced day!

A little more about me...

My name is Emily. I turned 30 in August. I have been lots of things; dental assistant, massage therapist, receptionist, customer service. I never thought I'd figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. Enter stage left-Jason.

My husband, Jason, is in the Navy. We met online in July 2004 while he was deployed to Afghanistan. We moved in together shortly after he arrived back stateside. We traveled and had a ton of fun until it was time for him to deploy again, this time to Iraq.
Shortly after he deployed I found out that I was pregnant. I had moved home to stay with family while he was gone. We talked by email every day, at least once. Lots of IMing and texting.

He got home six months later, six weeks before Joshua would arrive. We moved into a small apartment near the base. On march 23rd, Jason proposed. Of course, I said yes. Joshua arrived by scheduled caesarean March 24, 2006. We got married July 4th. It was simple and patriotic. We were surrounded by friends and family. It was wonderful.

In December 2006 we moved to Sicily. Yep, in Italy. Gotta love the Navy, eh? Very shortly after arriving here we found out we were pregnant. In October 2007, we we welcomed Nikolas. Two boys, 18 months apart. Haha. No, not really.

It has been crazy and wonderful and amazing. I never imagined I could feel so much love. Being a mom and a wife must be the best two things to be.

I'll continue on later. I need to drink my Theraflu and get to bed.

Step One

I imagine the first step to getting my life balanced is learning what is most important. Making priorities and keeping them in order. As a Christian, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ should always be number one. My husband is next but some people would argue that your children should be in this spot. But your children aren't going to divorce you or have an affair. Your marriage takes a lot of hard work. I do believe your children are your first ministry but your marriage is your first responsibility.
So, Jesus then your marriage with your children close after that. Not everyone's priorities are the same, nor are the same for your entire life. Every person has many seasons in their life. Some seasons a career is near the top of the list, sometimes its children or finding a spouse.
Right now, my home is higher than a career because I'm not currently working outside the home. I plan on returning to school in the next year or so and at that time I'm sure that will require more balancing. I also have responsibilities to my women's Bible study group. I serve on the board and this spring I am leading a study. I also have Stamp Club, which is very important girl/craft time away from the kids.
I also do a lot online. I Squidoo, blog, CafePress & Zazzle I am an affiliate for Compelling Creations. I am an Independent Consultant for Thirty-One Gifts.
Somewhere in there I need to exercise and have some time to relax and rejuvenate. I also need to clean and cook and do laundry. How do people manage it all? That is what I plan to answer on this journey in this new year.

Here is some scripture to help you prioritize.

~Proverbs3 5-12 (The Message)
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child he loves that God corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this.

~1 John 2:17 (NIV)
The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

~2 Corinthians 3:5 (CEV)
We don't have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all that we do.

~Psalm 55:22 (NIV)
Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.